Through a partnership with several multicultural organizations, the vice president for student success’ office hosted the Multicultural Voting Fair on Thursday afternoon.

The fair, held in the Mandela Room from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., was a joint effort between many of the University’s multicultural organizations, including the Asian Student Union, African Student Organization, Latin American Student Union, Hindu Student Council, Caribbean Student Association and JUMP Nation. The fair sought to encourage students to vote and engage with the democratic process. Students were given the tools to register to vote, explore voting options — whether in person or absentee — and consider becoming poll workers.

Upon entering the fair, students received cards that were stamped at each voting information table. Applications were distributed to become poll workers at the first two tables and students were invited to pledge to vote in the upcoming November general election. Other tables offered guidance on absentee ballot requests and voter registration paperwork. After visiting all four tables and completing their stamp cards, those attending the fair proceeded to various multicultural organizations’ tables for free food, including boba, samosas, pastelitos, South Asian cookies and African meat pies.

Luca Cassidy, the VPSS and a senior majoring in economics, was one of the event’s primary organizers. He provided insights into the fair’s main objectives, emphasizing the importance of forming connections with multicultural groups.

“Our collaborations with the multicultural organizations are integral as they are bedrocks within the community and no event is possible without the community,” Cassidy wrote in an email.

Cassidy addressed the significance of amplifying the voices and perspectives of students with multicultural backgrounds, noting that they “have historically, and to this day in many areas, faced vast barriers to their right to vote.” He said that on campus, voting rates among Asian, Black and Hispanic students are considerably lower than that of white students. He added that the voting rate among Asian students at BU was significantly below the national average, which he hopes to address this election year.

The Multicultural Resource Center, which encourages diversity, awareness and understanding through education, and the Center for Civic Engagement, a campus organization committed to building partnerships that empower communities and promote active citizenship, also played a prominent role in the event’s organizing.

“This event addresses barriers to registering and turning out to vote, and the CCE team is providing staffing and training to support students in registering to vote, requesting an absentee ballot and more,” wrote Allison Handy Twang, the center’s director. “The CCE provides a number of nonpartisan resources to support student participation in the electoral process, and students can find important deadlines and information on our webpage.”

Students will have the opportunity to cast their votes in local and national elections on campus. The VPSS office will host a “Chalk the Vote” event the Saturday before Election Day, providing a creative way for the student body to become further involved with the electoral process.

Nadira Asghar, a freshman majoring in integrative neuroscience, said that especially for students like herself seeking to belong, it can be hard to find affinity spaces.

“I’ve been looking into clubs that resonate with me, and coming to a space where all those clubs get together and all those people are there is really motivating,” Asghar said. “I also needed to register for an absentee ballot, so I could do that here as well.”