League of Women Voters President Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins offered a detailed critique and commentary on voting in the United States Wednesday evening.

She encouraged students to involve themselves in government and politics and advocating that everyone push others to vote in this and every election.

Speaking to a limited audience in an ICC classroom, Jefferson-Jenkins said that only by involvement in government would women and the younger generation be able to continue the changes her generation began. She also spoke specifically about her role as the first black president of the league, saying, “Anytime you’re the first at anything, it’s difficult.”

Jefferson-Jenkins began the evening with a game, having everyone stand up and then sit as she called off laws that would have prevented individuals from voting at previous points in U.S. history. After her questions, one person was left standing on her instruction. She then criticized the fact that one person would be representing her view and her needs, and said, “I don’t even know this young man, I don’t know whether to trust him.”

Throughout the speech, Jefferson-Jenkins – a former high school principal and educator – used techniques to teach facts and figures to the students as well as provide information about key issues for women in the election. During her speech, she plugged services that the league is presenting for the upcoming election, including a Web site where voters can get information about national, state and local races, and ask questions of the candidates’ campaigns online. Also, she spoke about the league’s “Take a Friend to Vote” campaign which seeks to increase voter turnout by having those who vote each take or convince one friend to go to the polls.

This campaign was started in response to a league study, Jefferson-Jenkins said, indicating both voters and non-voters are equally cynical. The study also found people do not vote because they feel uninformed. The study also found, she said, that most of those who do vote have either a relationship with a conscientious voter or is asked numerous times to vote. The “Take a friend to vote” campaign is designed to address the latter of the two concerns, and services that the league offers online called DemocracyNet, aims at providing unbiased information on the candidates, down to the local level.

Jefferson-Jenkins also spoke about the league itself, saying that the organization has existed since 1920 and now has over 1,000 chapters or local leagues. Though Jefferson-Jenkins is the first black woman elected as the president of the organization, the league itself is more than 90 percent white, according to her figures.

“What I’m finding,” she said, “is that your generation is taking [the voting process] for granted. We haven’t moved far enough so you can relax. Rights can be lost very quickly.”

She also criticized the league, saying that it doesn’t need to serve women alone. “We’ve got to get moving in a different direction.”

Jefferson-Jenkins also chastised those who are motivated to politically advance themselves before others.

“We have to realize that we’re not on the earth to work for ourselves,” she said, encouraging people to oust people who do such things.

Jefferson-Jenkins finished the speech asking the audience which issue concerned them most, and gave commentary on such issues as school vouchers.

The Georgetown Office of Leadership Development and the Women’s Center sponsored the speech.