Men’s Cross Country Forms Athletics Voting Initiative

HOUSTON – In an effort to address the systemic racism in the United States, the Rice men's cross country team has formed an athletic voting initiative with the goal of getting every eligible Rice student-athlete registered to vote. Aspirations are to have all team members registered, regardless of party preference and regardless of how they actually vote.

Led by Rice junior Ace Castillo, the cross country team is working in conjunction with campus' Center for Civic Leadership (CCL) and have been able to use a system called Turbovote that expedites the process on registering to vote. Launched by a nonpartisan nonprofit called Democracy Works, Turbovote helps start the voter registration process, request a ballot by mail, and sends email/text reminders for upcoming election deadlines.

Castillo, who is the active men's cross country representative for the Rice Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, has joined up with teammates and been able to connect with members of each varsity sports team in order for them to act as team representatives to spread the word about the voting initiative.

The men's cross country and track & field teams have been working through SAAC with the support of CCL to accomplish this goal. While this particular initiative started with the team, it's something that has expanded department wide with the sponsorship and support of the SAAC.

Through Castillo's work and that of other student-athlete leaders who've expressed an interest in this area, SAAC will continue to sponsor educational programs in conjunction with campus' CCL as part of the RICEngaged initiative (https://cclapp2.rice.edu/ricengaged/) until Election Day.

Following the death of George Floyd, the Owls met as a team back in June to discuss how they could make a difference moving forward. Castillo took on a leadership role and with the help of head coach Jon Warren took immediate action.

"I knew something had to be done," Castillo said. "Enough is enough. I found myself frustrated that yet another Black individual died at the hands of officers. I came across a newly-formed student group, Rice for Black Life, and saw they were having a "Contact-a-thon" fundraiser for four Houston non-profits' (Black Lives Matter Houston, Texas Organizing Project, Indivisible Houston, and Pure Justice). I knew I wanted to join their efforts raising funds for social and policy change to fight state-sanctioned violence against Black people."

"My immediate response was to use my platform as a student-athlete to reach out to people in the athletic department asking them to pledge a donation. After the fundraiser ended (and almost $100,000 later), I got a call from Coach Warren asking me about the fundraiser and the level of capacity he should address this issue on. We both agreed that the team needed to have a meeting to discuss the recent events and have an open dialogue for people to share their personal experiences. The meeting was a great example of our team comradery. Nobody shied away from addressing the systemic racism being highlighted in this country. A recurring theme throughout the meeting was yes, having this difficult conversation is necessary, but what can we do as a team to create change for our Black teammates, friends, and family."

Since that meeting the men's cross country team has competed in a virtual marathon with proceeds going to the Black Lives Matter chapter. Other athletes have participated in "money for miles", where they have people pledge a donation per every mile run in a 24-hour period.

"Like many teams, we discussed the worldwide response and how this one event could impact so many," said Warren. "From this came the question, "but what can we actually DO?" That is where the initiative for getting the entire athletic department registered to vote. Often in athletics a training maxim is that if something is not going right, go back and focus on fundamentals. Well, there is nothing more fundamental about democracy than voting. Voting increases the voice of everyone and our team felt like this was a way to impact the entire community in a way that was positive for everyone. In the discussion I asked Ace if he would be interested in taking the lead on this and he jumped at it."

For Castillo, the opportunity to make an impact beyond the playing field isn't one he foresaw but one that he is thankful for.

"For me personally, to use my platform as a student-athlete to create a real difference in the Rice community is an experience I did not anticipate having in my time at Rice," he said. "However, to be given this role comes from an immense level of appreciation in Jon's trust in me to lead something that is bigger than any one of us."

National Voter Registration Day
Today marks the ninth annual National Voter Registration Day, which is a nonpartisan civic holiday celebrating our democracy. National Voter Registration Day gives everyone the opportunity the register to vote as organizations and volunteers across the country create easier access for those looking to register. For more information, visit www.nationalvoterregistrationday.org.

In addition, thanks to a partnership with the Rice University Center for Civic Leadership, Rice students can opt to receive voter registration forms and ballot request applications through TurboVote in pre-paid, pre-addressed envelopes at www.rice.turbovote.org.

Deadlines to Remember
-Oct. 5: Deadline to register to be able to vote in Texas in the November election
-Oct. 13-30: Early voting period in Harris County
-Oct. 23: Deadline to request a mailed ballot
-Nov. 3: General Election Day

-RiceOwls.com-

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