ABSTRACT
Over the course of the past three decades, scholars and practitioners lamented low levels of political engagement among college students (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012;Thomas et al., 2019). The civic engagement movement formed to address concerns about student preparedness for engaging in American democracy, but higher education's response largely upheld involvement in apolitical community service (Colby, 2008;Finley, 2011;Saltmarsh & Hatley, 2011). In recent years, a small number of political scientists began incorporating nonpartisan political engagement activities into course curriculum, measuring civic outcomes, the effectiveness of campus interventions, and other quantitatively driven scholarship (Bardwell, 2011;Beaumont et al., 2006;Mann et al., 2018). Third party nonprofit organizations, also concerned about the lack of college student political engagement, mobilized to encourage nonpartisan political engagement among college students (Jacoby, 2006). Fulfilling a role not formally supported on many campuses, peer educators involved in cocurricular nonpartisan political engagement offer a possible antidote to low participation among college students.The following qualitative study advanced scholarly insight into the lived experience of college students involved in nonpartisan political activity, such as registering students to vote, hosting debate watch parties, organizing local candidate forums, and participating in an assortment of activities intended to increase the political engagement of peers. In addition to illuminating the lived experience of nonpartisan political engagement, this study also sought to understand how these experiences influenced future aspiration for civic engagement more broadly. Set within the context of a particularly polarized era of American politics reflected at colleges and universities still responding to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the study employed a theoretical framework comprised of emerging adulthood theory (Arnett, 2018) and the campus political climate framework (Thomas & Brower, 2018). The 15 student participants participated in semi-structured interviews in the fall of 2020 and then contributed to one of four focus groups following the election.In consultation with participants, the following themes were co-constructed to share the lived experience of nonpartisan political engagement during the 2020 election season: navigating uncertainty and disruption, committing to nonpartisanship, turning to digital and online engagement, persuading peers to participate, resisting threats to democracy, and seeking institutionalization of political engagement. Students provided compelling perspectives and stories, offering in-depth insight into their roles and the power of nonpartisan political engagement. As for students' future civic engagement, participants described factors driving their aspiration to remain involved, capacities they developed, and emerging career outlooks related to civic engagement. Practical implications were discussed, including recommendations for how the field of higher education can support nonpartisan political engagement as a functional responsibility within the cocurricular experience in higher education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)