As the editor of Tufts Daily, Anar Kansara, reported this week, college students are working to get the word out about the referendum on the November 6 ballot aimed at repealing basic rights to pubic accommodations for transgender people.
Writes Kansara:
Juniors Sean Murphy and Martina Tan have been active volunteers for Yes on 3 since June of this year, when both were recruited during the Boston Pride Parade. According to Murphy, the campaign has two main branches: public education and volunteer recruitment. Both sectors are active through phone banks and in-person efforts, Tan said.
As a volunteer leader, Murphy is involved in in-person volunteer recruitment at Tufts. He is also responsible for “action leading,” which involves training volunteers to recruit even more people to the campaign. According to Tan, she and Murphy became volunteer leaders after other leaders in the campaign noticed their heavy involvement and participation.
“You become a volunteer leader … if you’re devoted to the cause and have a good set of skills that will make you a good leader,” Tan said.
Murphy echoed this sentiment, adding that he finds the campaign rewarding.
“We do this because this is worthwhile work,” he said.
In their roles, Murphy and Tan make sure the Yes on 3 campaign events at Tufts run smoothly and consistently each week, they said. According to Murphy, phone banks take place on Tuesday nights from 6–9 p.m. at the LGBT Center and Thursday nights from 6–9 p.m. at the Women’s Center.
Murphy and Tan, along with other volunteers, run the Thursday night phone bank, as well as in-person recruitment efforts on Fridays from 2–5 p.m. near the Mayer Campus Center. The events began this semester, they said.
Both efforts are centered around public education, which includes calling Massachusetts voters to talk about why nondiscrimination is important, according to Tan. At the in-person events, Yes on 3 volunteers speak with students about transgender rights, according to Murphy and Tan. They encourage students to attend campaign events at other locations, whether at Tufts or in the Greater Boston area.
Read the full article on the Tufts Daily website.
According to the Massachusetts Information for Voters Guide to the 2018 Ballot Questions, a YES vote on ballot question 3 “would keep in place the current law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in places of public accommodation.” Boston Spirit strongly endorses a YES vote on ballot question 3.
