UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Peter Lusch, assistant professor of graphic design at Penn State, will give a lecture titled “Resident Registrants: Informing Student Voters Through the Power of Design” at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2, in the Palmer Lipcon Auditorium at the Palmer Museum of Art. Sponsored by the Borland Project Space, the free lecture will address the role of graphic design in politics, elections, and voter engagement and turnout.
Since the 2012 presidential election, Lusch has researched the work of turning eligible student voters (ages 18–24) into registered voters. In this talk he will share examples of his work in creating visual communications that solve public problems. His socially minded design activity aims to clarify and inform residential university students as a means to reduce intimidation related to registering to vote.
In conjunction with his lecture, Lusch displayed his mobile exhibition, "Our Rights to Vote: Constitutional Amendments and Congressional Acts Since 1868," on the Palmer Museum of Art Plaza and at the HUB-Robeson Center on three occasions this fall that were connected to significant dates — Constitution Day, National Voter Registration Day, and the last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania. Volunteers staffed a table with voter registration information to help Penn State students register to vote and better appreciate the process of voter legislation. The exhibition was an extension of Lusch’s master of fine arts show at Michigan State in 2012.
For more information about Lusch’s voter project, visit http://bit.ly/2cwryIK.