HENDRIX SENIOR NAMED A 2022 THOMAS J. WATSON FELLOW CONWAY, Ark. (March 17, 2022) – Hendrix College student ILANA SVARTZ ’22, a politics major and social justice minor from Austin, Texas, has been announced as a member of the 54th class of Thomas J. Watson Fellows. The Watson Fellowship is a one-year grant for purposeful, independent study outside the United States, awarded to graduating seniors nominated by one of 41 partner colleges. Svartz is the 39th Hendrix student to receive a Watson Fellowship. Svartz’s Watson project, titled “Compulsory Voting and the Culture of Civic Engagement,” will take her to Australia, Singapore, Luxembourg, and Bolivia. All of these governments have compulsory voting, with voter turnout topping 90% and civic engagement integrated into childhood education. She will examine how mandatory voting affects civic participation and political organizing in each of these places. “I hope to understand whether compulsory voting alone is responsible for the high voter turnout rate or if there are other cultural norms or expectations that help to achieve this high voter turnout,” she said. “I will spend time in their capital cities and in more rural communities to see how voting culture differs, even within one country.” Svartz became interested in voter engagement while taking a course titled Numbers in American Politics, one of the teamtaught course options offered at Hendrix as part of the firstyear curriculum The Engaged Citizen. The class was teamtaught by math and politics faculty members and examined
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electoral systems and reforms from both perspectives. After this class, Svartz sought more opportunities at Hendrix to further her interest. She has been part of the Arkansas Student Congress debate team all four years at Hendrix, leading the team this year and winning awards for writing two voting-centered bills. Her participation in the Hendrix Model UN and Mock Trial teams helped her grow comfortable with public speaking and interviewing. And as a Hendrix junior, she completed an Odyssey project in the Service to the World category that had her volunteering in phone banking during the 2020 election. “During this project, I was able to see how hard it was to get people to vote, which made me meditate on other ways we can get people engaged, and ultimately led me to my Watson topic,” she said. Svartz also participated as the Arkansas Delegate in the Henry Clay National Student Congress, where she worked with a group of students from around the country to propose a solution to election issues; and during her junior and senior years, she interned with Arkansas United Community Coalition
