September 12, 2024
Along the way, Cassil briefly met Kamala Harris at a rally promoting gun safety, learning the vice president has a firm handshake and a way of inspiring people to keep knocking on doors despite the brutal summer heat.
“I’m interested in a career in public service, and maybe even running for office, so I wanted to get a real-world view of how government works and to learn about political and community organizing to increase voter participation,” said Cassil, who is president of the Honors Council at Susquehanna University and believes greater voter participation and civic engagement are key to building common ground rather than digging deeper political divides.
Internship teaches the ways of constituent services
During his internship with Van Hollen, Cassil handled calls from constituents seeking help with immigration delays, veteran benefits, missing tax returns and Medicare, among other federal issues.
“I quickly learned when constituents call, it’s usually as a last resort. People sometimes cried as they explained their problems, like not getting their Social Security check because the state accidentally declared them dead,” Cassil said. “I learned the importance of empathy but also knew the best way to help constituents was to quickly and accurately get needed information to a caseworker with expertise in the area who could help them.”
While Cassil spent most of his six-week internship handling constituent concerns, he also visited Capitol Hill several times, where he met Van Hollen, completed orientation and a scavenger hunt with other interns to learn their way around the Capitol and attended committee hearings.
Getting out the vote through Democracy Summer
Unlike his internship, which gave him an inside view of government, Cassil’s fellowship with Democracy Summer introduced him to political and community organizing through Raskin’s reelection campaign, including state-of-the-art tactics in voter registration, canvassing and digital political organizing. The Democracy Summer project trains and deploys the next generation of Democratic organizers and leaders to win elections all over America.
“Along with hands-on activities like canvassing, there were weekly online seminars with historians, law professors, political organizers and elected leaders. Whether it was former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords speaking adamantly for common-sense gun laws or U.S. Rep. Bernie Thompson recounting his experience chairing the January 6 Committee, we heard from a wide cast of political players,” Cassil said.
Through Democracy Summer, Cassil attended a June rally on National Gun Violence Awareness Day attended by Vice President Harris and U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Angela Alsobrooks. “I learned gun violence — not car accidents or cancer — is the No. 1 killer of kids in the United States,” Cassil said, adding that Harris stressed the importance of voting to build the political will to enact common-sense gun laws. At the rally, Cassil shook hands with Harris and thanked her and President Biden for their service. The vice president responded, “I want to thank you for everything that you will be doing to help us during the next 151 days.”
For the next six weeks as a historic political summer unfolded, Cassil knocked on hundreds of doors in the unrelenting July and August heat, urging people to turn out and vote. “At times, even when met by less-than-friendly responses, I wasn’t discouraged. During phone banking sessions when people hung up on me, I kept dialing, remembering Vice President Harris’ words,” Cassil said. “I reminded myself it’s not about the 70% of people who won’t answer their doors but about the 30% who do. It’s about engaging with people and showing them why you care so much about the importance of voting.”
Back on campus, Cassil is taking Associate Professor Rolfe Peterson’s Elections and Voting Behavior course and is interning with Public Citizen, working to register students to vote and engage voters in the community.
“I want Susquehanna to be an exemplary university with high voter participation,” Cassil said. “Regardless of political party affiliation, I hope we can all agree that casting a ballot in a free and fair election is the backbone of American democracy and something we all value.”