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In the last U.S. presidential election, nearly 90 percent of eligible St. Olaf College students voted. It was one of the top student voting rates of any college campus in the country, earning St. Olaf accolades from national and state organizations.

“That impressive level of voter engagement doesn’t happen overnight,” says Academic Civic Engagement Program Director Alyssa Melby. “It’s a culture of civic engagement, built on decades of activism and political involvement on campus.”

As St. Olaf launches the celebration of its 150th anniversary this fall — and the campus community prepares to once again head to the polls for a presidential election — a new exhibit highlights the ways that students have been at the forefront of political activism throughout the college’s history.

Practicing Democracy: 150 Years of St. Olaf Student Civic Engagement will be on display in the Flaten Art Museum from September 13 to December 10.

“It’s crucial to look back on our past to remind ourselves of the important civic work done by students on campus — and to remember that just like us, these students were living in turbulent times. And just like them, we can find comfort in our communities as we look towards shaping a better future.”

— Anika James ’25

The nonpartisan exhibit will be split into two sections. The west gallery will feature photographs and ephemera on loan from College Archives highlighting non-violent protests, artistic responses to urgent issues, candidate campus visits, and get-out-the-vote campaigns from the early 1900s to the present. 

The east gallery features an immersive mock election experience where visitors can register to vote, cast a straw poll ballot, and discover ways to stay informed and engaged. Following the election on Tuesday, November 5, it will transform into a “living room” for reflection and civic dialogue. 

On October 21, a surprise installation will pop up on campus and expand the election conversation beyond the museum’s doors.

 The Practicing Democracy exhibit is a collaboration between Flaten Art Museum, the Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) program within the Smith Center for Global Engagement, the Institute for Freedom and Community (IFC), and the College Archives.

Flaten Art Museum Director Jane Becker Nelson ’04 points out that because the curatorial team consists of faculty, staff, and students from different disciplines across the college, many unique perspectives and expertise influenced the project. 

“Exhibition-making harnesses creativity, a good narrative, and compelling visuals to excite engagement,” she says. “The team’s synergy has been electric.”

IFC Director and Professor of Political Science Chris Chapp says the collaboration driving the exhibit is what makes it so powerful.

“I’ve been talking and teaching about political participation for years, and to see it in an art museum is really fulfilling,” he says. “The combination of ‘visually appealing’ and ‘educational and practical’ isn’t something you see too often.”

ACE Student Elections and Democratic Engagement Coordinator Sophie Smith ’26 hopes the exhibit will encourage dialogue about how different disciplines such as art, history, and science play a role in fostering civic engagement.

“When I left the first planning meeting, I was inspired and excited by the aim to connect art, archival work, and civic engagement,” she says.

Becker Nelson says that connecting with historical materials from the College Archives collapses the distance between the past and our present. 

“The sesquicentennial is an invitation to better understand ourselves within an arc of history,” she says. “While we worked in the archives, I witnessed our students develop a kinship with the Ole community. Photos of the Vietnam War, sit-ins, and apartheid protests took on real depth as student protests over the Israel-Hamas War disrupted campus life across the country, including here in Northfield, last spring.”

“The sesquicentennial is an invitation to better understand ourselves within an arc of history.”

— Flaten Art Museum Director Jane Becker Nelson ’04

FAM student curatorial assistants Omar al-Taie ’24, Anika James ’25, Andrew Mazariegos-Ovalle ’24, and Lauren Schilling ’25 worked together to curate the exhibit on every level, from sifting through archival materials to writing object labels. 

“It’s crucial to look back on our past to remind ourselves of the important civic work done by students on campus — and to remember that just like us, these students were living in turbulent times. And just like them, we can find comfort in our communities as we look towards shaping a better future,” James says.

Photos on view in the west gallery include student suffragettes supporting women’s right to vote, campus visits by historical political figures Hubert Humphrey and Eleanor Roosevelt, American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Dennis Banks, and African American civil rights leaders Coretta Scott King and Ralph Abernathy. Student protests during the Vietnam War and South African Apartheid are also featured, along with off-campus demonstrations during the Gulf War. 

Schilling, who alongside their role as a curatorial assistant at FAM is a specialist in the College Archives, was the first set of eyes on many of the exhibited materials. After finding a mock ballot from the 1916 presidential election, where only men over the age of 21 could vote, they reflected on what has and hasn’t changed. 

“Thinking about how we have evolved as an institution and as a nation shows how much has changed, but there is still a long way to go,” they say. “I’m excited to see how viewers will be inspired to continue changing our ever-evolving democracy while remaining rooted in our history.” 

Going through archived prints and graphics, Mazariegos-Ovalle handled countless pieces of political art from past students. He says art as an entry point to politics is meaningful, especially for young people who are just finding their voices.

“When I was doing this research about political engagement at St. Olaf, I got a sense of astonishment because of how much there was,” he says. “Art is an alternate way to talk about difficult subjects like politics, and I want to show in the exhibition that there are students who are and have been speaking up.”

Within the museum and opposite the gallery element will be an interactive skill-building space where students can engage with one another in dialogue and learn about different pathways to political participation.

ACE Student Elections and Democratic Engagement Coordinator Roxi Wessel ’26 says one of the most important parts of the exhibit is allowing students to engage with politics in a physical space. “So much of what young people know and understand about politics is through the internet and media,” she says. “Existing in these spaces in the real world is so different and very important.”

From opening to election day, there will be mock polls where visitors can walk through what they might experience while voting. Afterward, the polls will be replaced with couches and become a gathering place for conversations and reflection. There will also be a “Democracy in Dialogue Wall,” where students can write questions that their peers can answer or respond to. 

“The presidential election is one day every four years, but democracy is 365 days a year,” Melby says. “Our goal is helping students build skills to show up and participate however they can.”

Exhibit Events

Tuesday, September 10,  8:30-10 a.m.
Center for Innovation in the Liberal Arts (CILA) Breakfast: Practicing Democracy Kick-Off
Faculty and staff are invited to join the exhibit’s organizers for an exclusive exhibit preview. Participants will take away tools to support first-time voters, ideas to promote civic engagement in and out of the classroom, tips for teaching with primary source materials, and a deeper understanding of St. Olaf’s history. 

Friday, September 13, 5-7 p.m.
Opening Reception
Join the exhibition’s curators for a celebratory election season kick-off and opening reception. Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, September 17, 3-5 p.m.
Register to Vote at FAM
In conjunction with National Voter Registration Day and Constitution Day, St. Olaf’s Election Ambassadors will hold “office hours” in the east gallery, registering voters and answering questions about the election process. 

Saturday, October 5, 4 p.m.
March, Speak, Dance, Draw, Vote! Civic Engagement Alumni Roundtable
Welcome back to the Hill, Oles! In conjunction with St. Olaf Homecoming Weekend, alumni who have made notable contributions to civic engagement will converse about the many forms of student activism, past and present. 

Thursday, October 24, 4 p.m.
Sunshine Hillygus: Mobilizing Young Voters in a Polarized Political Environment
Viking Theater, Buntrock Commons
Join Duke University Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Shinshine Hillygus for a reception at the Flaten Art Museum immediately following the talk.

Tuesday, November 5
Election Day! 

Thursday, November 7, 7-8 p.m.
Post-Election Living Room Conversation with IFC Director and Professor of Political Science Chris Chapp
Cozy in and debrief the election results in a casual Q&A setting.