JACKSON, Miss.—Hundreds of students gathered inside the Jackson State University Student Union where a long line wrapped around the room leading to a table with Rotel dip, popcorn and party foods on Tuesday, Nov. 5. More students sat at round tables facing a giant screen tuned to CNN. An excited hum filled the air when the DJ paused the music for the host to speak.
“It’s still early,” comedian Rita Brent told the students. “Get some chicken. We have time.”
Laughter erupted from the crowd before the DJ turned the music back on.
“I think everybody’s excited,” First Lady LaToya Redd Thompson, who led efforts to increase voter participation at JSU this year, told the Mississippi Free Press during the watch party. “We started this morning with dorm storms, where several organizations came together and we went through the dorms. … The excitement built with the Stroll to the Polls, and I think as the night goes on and the election results start coming in, hopefully, the excitement will continue to build.”
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In the back of the room, a group of students sat eating pizza and drinking sodas. They watched the results on a smaller television screen while comparing them to the Associated Press results on their phone.
“Harris just lost Florida,” Antonio Handy said, eliciting a groan from the rest of the table.
As the election results moved in Trump’s favor, the group began discussing Donald Trump’s stand on women’s reproductive rights, Project 2025 and his felony convictions.
Engaging a New Generation of Voters
The day’s events reflected First Lady Thompson’s efforts to engage the student body in this year’s election cycle. The practicing attorney and wife of the university president, Marcus Thompson, launched the JSU Rocks the Vote initiative earlier this year.
Thompson partnered with campus organizations such as JSU Votes, the JSU Chapter of the NAACP and Students Demand Action to host several events leading up to the election. As part of JSU’s Leadership and Legacy Speaker Series, it hosted
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