Athletes prove skeptics wrong with successful drive
Lewis, Cheatum are forces behind campaign drawing heavy voter registration by players
Fred Lewis and Alexis Cheatum did not know what to expect when they decided to team up and promote a voter registration initiative among University of Houston student-athletes.
Lewis, a member of the school’s track and field program, watched as the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May sparked marches across the country against social injustice and police violence. He relayed his feelings through poetry on Instagram. He posted a video on Twitter.
“Something has to change,” said Lewis, a junior sprinter. “We need to vote.”
About the same time, Cheatum, a member of the school’s volleyball team, sent out a social media challenge. Cheatum offered $2 through Venmo — “I’m a college student,” she said — to the first 25 people who called elected officials and other decision-makers on behalf of Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and Elijah McClain, all Black and all the victims of police shootings.
Cheatum’s initial thought: “People are so blind to the election. There are so many local elections going on that determine your local city policies. It’s so much bigger than the presiden
tial election. It’s what’s happening right here in your community.”
Together, Lewis and Cheatum, along with assistance from the UH athletic department and UH Student Government Association, spent the past several months focused on encouraging the student body tomake its voice heard by registering to vote and participating on Election Day.
Lewis was greeted by those who offered support and others who pushed back and told him “what you’re doing is pointless.” Cheatum was “astonished” by the number of athletes who told her
they either were not registered to vote or did not take the time to vote.
“When I was talking to Chris Pezman, the athletic director, he was just so behindme that Iwanted to push,” Lewis said. “Then when I got my own friends involved and they were so behind me, and then my friend Alexis takes charge in a lot of things, it showed what I was passionate about really mattered.”
Lewis and Cheatum organized athletic department-wide voter registration efforts, with the goal to sign up as many UH studentathletes as possible ahead of the presidential election. They did not focus on supporting specific candidates but to urge involvement in the voting process, both locally and nationally.
Along with voter registration, Lewis said student-athletes were educated on how to absentee vote or, for out-of-town students, the eligibility requirements to vote in Harris County.
“The main goal was to solely vote because it is your right,” said Cheatum, a junior from Austin. “Exercise your right to vote.”
Seven UH athletic programs had at least 85 percent of their rosters register to vote, including every member of the men’s and women’s basketball teams, tennis and volleyball teams, according to data provided by the university. Football, women’s soccer and swimming and diving also had registrations above 85 percent.
“Look at the turnout,” Lewis said in response to the early naysayers.
The group represents an age demographic that votes the least of any in the United States. Only 46 percent of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 29 voted in the 2016 election, according to census data.
“Go out and use your voice to see the changes you want to see,” Cheatum said. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Whatever opinion you want that to be, put that down on paper, put that down for a person that’s going to exercise their opinions and values that you have and hold.”
In September, the NCAA’s Division I Council announced every Division I program — a membership that includes 1,100 colleges and universities — must give student-athletes an annual day off from practice or competition to vote or participate in civic activities.
“By providing this day dedicated to civic engagement each year, we are making a clear distinction that our American student-athletes will always be citizens before they are athletes,” said Ethan Good, the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee chair. “The student-athlete voice continues to grow louder and louder every year.”
Another big victory came last month when the Cougar Voting Coalition — which consists of the UH College Democrats, UH College Republicans, UH #ForTheStudents and select student leaders — gained approval from county and university officials tomove the on-campus polling location to TDECU Stadium. The move will allow for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic and help alleviate long lines, the group said.
Cheatum plans to be active Tuesday, when she’ll wrap up her day by volunteering at the stadium. Lewis plans to be there, too.
“It’s cool to see the fruits of our labor come together with the help of our athletic department and governmental relations,” Cheatum said.
Rather than wait out the election results, Cheatum said she’ll probably be in bed early.
“I may just take two Melatonin and go to sleep because I’m just so nervous about what’s going to happen,” she said.