President Roth: And So We Act
AMERICA’S 2026 SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL marks our independence from Britain, the cornerstone of our development as a democratic republic. Our political system has famously striven to be “a perfect union,” and despite heartbreaking setbacks, signs of progress are evident over the course of our history. Today in the United States one can easily see the erosion of democratic norms, but we have also witnessed plenty of people who refuse to give up. The march toward authoritarianism is only successful if we get out of its way and Wesleyans have long refused to be complacent about our freedoms. I expect many will find ways to preserve them—whatever their own political beliefs.
The University is doing its part to celebrate and defend our republic, building a network of hundreds of schools and allied organizations for Democracy Summer, a nationwide program to educate citizens and protect our elections in the coming year. We are encouraging students all over the country to protect our rights and contribute to the public sphere. Doing so won’t just strengthen our country; it will also directly enhance the education of students who participate, empowering them to build a better future. And what better way this summer to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday?
Higher education has thrived in the ecosystem of freedoms provided by our democracy. Today that ecosystem is under enormous strain, and as teachers and students we must now rise to its defense.
By tapping into existing organizations and their networks, we will provide access to training and best practices. But how schools interpret the imperative to protect our democracy will be up to them. Many will work with organizations such as Campus Compact and Civic Nation to encourage voting. Others are focused on promoting free speech and civil dialogue on their campuses. They might work on local issues by canvassing and organizing in communities or focus on national obstacles to voting, such as poor access to polling places, misinformation, and administrative constraints. Many will offer internships to join campaigns from Alaska to Texas or hold workshops on how to register voters and help them get to the polls. And by the end of the summer, as midterm elections come into view, this network of schools will dispatch thousands of students for meaningful work, under the guidance of election administrators and civic organizations, to recruit poll workers and monitor voting as it’s underway. There are many different ways to ensure the simple promise that every eligible voter has the chance to cast a ballot and that all ballots are accurately counted.
This is not a partisan effort: We are drawing students from conservative-leaning civic centers and older progressive organizations alike, and they will work side by side, in districts where they feel politically at home as well as those where they are outliers. Nor is this a one-time effort. The 2026 elections are crucial, but we are building democratic muscles in young people that should endure well beyond the current election cycle.
Higher education has thrived in the ecosystem of freedoms provided by our democracy. Today that ecosystem is under enormous strain, and as teachers and students we must now rise to its defense. Throughout the coming year Americans across the political spectrum will ask ourselves: How will we resist authoritarianism? How will we constructively participate in efforts to build a more just and democratic society? Some will take a traditional conservative approach and work to strengthen the checks and balances that have preserved spaces of freedom in civil society. Others will take a libertarian approach, emphasizing the need to call out and resist the abuse of individual rights by a prerogative state run according to the whims of those in power. Still others will take a progressive stance and emphasize the need to protect the vulnerable by pushing back against the kleptocracy that continues to reward the richest at the expense of the many.
Whatever approach we take to practicing democracy and exercising freedom, we can be inspired by those who risked their lives so that we could do so. We can be mindful, as James Madison said, that a government elected without the diffusion of education and information, “is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both.” And we can remember, as Joan Baez said, that “action is the antidote to despair.” And so we educate; and so we act.
