On September 20, 2008, 15 first-year students from Professor Ringer’s FSP “Voting with Our Fingers and Electing a President” staffed two voter-registration booths at a cultural festival in Trenton. They also formed two "roaming groups" which looked for individuals who wanted to register and gave them an opportunity to do so.

This direct-service opportunity was integrated directly with Professor Ringer’s learning objectives for her FSP. Encouraged to actively interact with potential voters, the students learned first-hand what may inhibit citizens from voting in elections  Conversely, they learned some of the main reasons people do choose to be part of the election process.

Every member of the class participated in the CEL day, and the students really enjoyed their experience at the festival. Many beamed with pride as they were able to register citizens, some of whom were initially reluctant. Overall, they registered more than 70 people from the fair and informed many more by distributing educational materials.  At the end of the day, several students asked for additional  opportunities to register voters as well as staying involved via the Bonner Center.

As with all CEL days, service and learning are combined.  The Bonner Team leading the event (Todd Stoner, Mike Strom, and Alex Berger)created handouts that summarized the Presidential candidates’ position on important issues; specifically, those that are relevant to the Trenton area. They also prepared a flier that listed the locations of local voting centers.  Lastly, the team armed the first-year students with an information packet that dealt with a range of issues, including--the eligibility requirements for voting and the link between voter participation rates and income.  With these tools, the first-year students were able to synthesize the voting process with both their FSP and their direct experiences from this Community-Engaged Learning Day.