Lexi Kupor’s undergraduate Stanford career is far from over. As a sophomore with plans to major in history, she’s taking courses that range from American studies to biology. But in terms of student activism in politics, she’s had her fair share of experience.
After being largely involved in Stanford Women in Politics last year, she’s now the co-director of Voter Education in Stanford Votes, a branch of Stanford Students in Government. Focusing on student voter registration, the committee mainly works on nonpartisan civic engagement projects on campus. Recently it hosted an event for students to make sure their mail-in ballots are correctly prepared.
“People have a conception of Stanford as a place that’s very politically active and politically involved because we live in a place that’s often a hub for social upheaval and willingness to criticize the systems that are in place,” Kupor said. “Stanford Votes is a very valuable branch because it’s attempting to change that and have students take tangible action.”
Kupor, who is from Los Gatos, initially got involved in politics after seeing the energy of Generation Z and the direction that current politics was going in recent elections. The more she got involved, the more interesting it was for her to study the basis of the U.S. political system in its legal and philosophical roots.
“It’s easy to get really passionate and powered up over something that you think is not going the way you want it to,” she said. “It’s harder to use the same energy to actually do something about it.”
Her passion stems from a desire to create more widespread recognition of the power of government and public service. “A lot of the civic engagement pathways in the country are very inaccessible to the average person and take a lot of navigating. It’s not a consequence of people’s laziness or people’s lack of caring, but because these systems can be so difficult to navigate and the energy they can take,” Kupor said.
Although Kupor is undecided about the direction she wants to take her career post-grad, she’s interested in focusing on political policymaking and strategy.
“What makes our generation stand out is that we have a willingness to be vocal about the issues that we care about, and the things that we dislike that we want to see change. Continuing to hear from the people that are in fields that interest me will be something valuable to help me determine what my future might look like,” Kupor said.
