INTRODUCTION
Voting, arguably the most important and precious right in a democratic society, is an essential one that every citizen has, and, if eligible, should not be denied under any circumstances. Despite that fact, our country's history has shown the opposite. A consistent pattern of voter oppression, suppression, and intimidation has poisoned the American electorate since the beginning days of the union. This type of suppression can be most often traced to women, communities of color, particularly those communities in the South, and young people.
Blatant disenfranchisement of students' voting rights is still prevalent in the United States, especially for students of color. Instances of voter suppression and intimidation have been consistently ignored with the intent to render young voting blocs impotent. In this case, we examine the past and present state of the right to vote for students at Prairie View A&M University, a historically black university in Texas.
Prairie View A&M University
According to its Web site, Prairie View A&M University, a historically black university founded in 1876, is the second oldest public institution of higher learning in the state of Texas. The university was created by the Texas state legislature under a land grant, which provided funding to create a school for "colored youth" that would serve as a training ground for black educators. The legislature established that the university would operate under the governance of Texas A&M University, the state's first and oldest public institution. Since its inception, Prairie View has experienced immense growth--from a student body of less than 50 students to a fully accredited university with over 8,000 students and over 50,000 graduates.
Waller County
According to the Waller County Web site, Waller County is located approximately forty-five minutes north of Houston. It has four major Texas communities: Hempstead, Prairie View, Waller, and some parts of Katy. The county's historical significance stems from serving as a medium of transporting products and goods from Houston to other cities in Texas and eventually to other states. In addition to a few plantations in the area, cotton and cattle were the mainstays of the county's economy in the late 1800s, which brought many African Americans to the county. The current population of Waller County is over 35,000, including the students residing on Prairie View's campus. The ethnic composition of the county is in dramatic contrast to the largely African American demographic of Prairie View A&M University. County officials feared that students would have the power and influence to drastically change the outcomes of the county elections. Greater still was their fear that a day might come when student voting power would be great enough to elect a student representative or alumni as a county official.
The Voting Rights Act
On its Web site, OurDocuments.gov recounts the events preceding President Lyndon B. Johnson's passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Throughout 1964, African Americans across the country held demonstrations to protest methods that were employed to rob them of their right to vote. Violence ensued in response...