Why does a center for the Orlando Magic care about what's happening at Queens College? Eight years ago Adonal Foyle, an eleven-year NBA veteran, founded Democracy Matters, a student organization that works to deepen our democracy. This year, Democracy Matters chapters -- including ours at Queens College will be running voter registration drives, organizing forums, film nights, and debates, and creative ways to get students politically engaged.
A recent Sports Illustrated (September 2008) featured a discussion with Foyle about his passion for democracy: "Our issues aren't as overt as in the 60s and 70s" says Orlando Magic Center Adonal Foyle. "You don't see blatant racism with dogs gnawing at people and fire hoses. The politics are more subtle. But, trust me, we're discussing the same issues -- the election, Rev. Wright, the war in Iraq, the economy --as everyone else…I think athletes are definitely getting more engaged."
Foyle, in fact, may be the standard-bearer for athletes who can leave a mark in ways other than winning titles. A native of St Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, Foyle attended Colgate University, where he was struck by the level of political indifference on campus and in the United States. A history major, Foyle diagnosed the cause: money. "Young people were feeling that politics didn't represent them," he says. "It was all about the big donors. There was a feeling that a small minority of the wealthy and corporate interests were making the decisions."
Foyle joined the NBA in 1997 and four years later founded Democracy Matters, a non-profit, nonpartisan group that, according to its mission statement, "works to get big money out of politics and people back in." Today there are Democracy Matters chapters on 70 college campuses. As he has been doing for most of his NBA career, Foyle spent the off-season extolling the virtues of publicly financed elections and teaching college kids about grassroots organizing and writing petitions.
Queens College Democracy Matters was launched this year to give students a bigger voice in the political process. Whether you worry about global warming, the cost of higher education, the rising unemployment rate, the war in Iraq or other critical issues, they are all tied to the question of money in politics. With big oil companies, banks, and corporations dominating the campaign funding given to our elected officials, politicians listen to their funders rather than to ordinary citizens. Most people, including young people, can't afford to run for office, and sitting politicians spend more time raising money than solving pressing social and economic problems.
Anna Carina Sporri, Vice President of Democracy Matters states, "I think the upcoming elections is one of the most exciting times in America. This is definitely creating more buzz in politics. We really hope that this means that more college students will be voting and becoming aware of what is going on in the country."
Democracy Matters mission is to change all of that and to increase voter awareness and participation! Get involved today. You can help by checking out the Web site www.democracymatters.org or sending an e-mail to the Queens College Democracy Matters club at QCDemocracyMatters@gmail.com.
**This article is an online exclusive, and did not appear in the print edition of The Knight News.**
Be the first to comment on this article!