As millions of Americans prepare to cast their vote on Tuesday, Stanford University President Jonathan Levin said he plans to greet Election Day with a sense of gratitude and a reminder that he is waking up in a country with tremendous freedom and opportunity.

“The fact that we’re getting to elect a leader of the country and we get to enjoy all of the freedoms of being Americans – we should have some gratitude for that,” Levin told students taking Jim Steyer’s fall quarter class, which features prominent leaders from across the political spectrum, business, foreign policy, academia, and the media reflecting on important democratic issues. This year, the course focuses on the challenges facing the U.S. ahead of the 2024 election.

Levin was joined by former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, BA ’12, MA ’12, and four undergraduate student leaders, Christopher Badillo, ’25, co-chair of Stanford in Government (SIG); Diego Kagurabadza, ’25, president of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU); Aubrey Merrill, ’26, co-chair of Stanford Votes; and Jeannette Wang, ’26, chair of Democracy Day.

Steyer, an adjunct professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education and the founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, moderated a wide-ranging discussion that touched on issues such as the importance of public service and unique issues facing Generation Z.

The conversation opened with Steyer asking Levin what he would say to Stanford students about why they should look at this election as an opportunity to spur change.

Levin reminded attendees – who included Stanford students at CEMEX Auditorium as well as community members enrolled in the course online – that this is the first opportunity for many students to vote in a national election.

“We’re very fortunate to live in a democracy where we get to vote to determine the future of the country,” Levin said. “It’s not true everywhere in the world, and it’s not true at every point in time.”

Levin expressed his hope that all eligible Stanford voters would cast their ballots Tuesday.

At Stanford, Election Day is an academic holiday featuring student-organized programming that engages the community – students, faculty, and staff – on important issues related to voting and democracy.

Steyer posed the same question to Tubbs, who emphasized that education is a privilege and a powerful tool that bears responsibility.

“I think this election has been a reminder to me that with Stanford privilege, purpose has to be connected to it,” Tubbs said. “It’s not enough to be individually successful if the world’s falling apart. It’s not enough to be rich or to be financially happy if we don’t have a democracy.”

Levin added that one of his aspirations is for Stanford to produce more leaders in public service as well as technology and athletics. “I think it would be great if, in 30 years, people look back at the Stanford alumni and say, ‘Wow, look at all the incredible public leaders that we have who’ve come out of Stanford from this generation,’” he said. “I think we’d all be incredibly proud to celebrate that.”

Civic engagement at Stanford

When Steyer asked the panelists how they have seen the role of civic engagement transform at Stanford, the establishment of Democracy Day in 2021 stood out as one particular turning moment in the campus culture.

But as Wang – who chairs Democracy Day this year – shared, although Democracy Day is student-run, support from across Stanford, especially the university president and administration, makes a big difference.

“It’s us working together, and I think that’s really critical,” Wang said.

Kagurabadza agreed. “I think the administration really sets the tone among students,” he said.

Reflecting further on how civic engagement has changed at Stanford, Kagurabadza shared enthusiasm from his peers for Civic, Liberal, and Global Education (COLLEGE), Stanford’s recently redesigned first-year requirement. The program encourages students to reflect on the role of higher education in a pluralistic democracy.

“I think Stanford is doing a lot to make sure that civic engagement [and] democracy is at the forefront of the community,” Kagurabadza said.

Levin, who is a ’94 alum, remembered the influence of Stanford leadership on shaping his own civic identity.

He recalled that when he was a student, then-Stanford President Donald Kennedy, after ending his presidency, chose to spend his leave teaching and mentoring students at Stanford’s program in Washington, D.C., in which Levin participated. Kennedy then became Levin’s undergraduate advisor.

Steyer also discussed the unique role faculty can play in mentoring students to become future leaders – Steyer was Tubbs’ instructor at Stanford and the pair have stayed in contact since.

Issues Gen Z is grappling with

The conversation also included a discussion about some of the most pressing concerns for Generation Z this election, including gun violence and economic insecurity.

Levin, who is an economist by training, pointed out that for much of the past 150 years in the U.S., standards of living have doubled each generation, but that trend has slowed down in the last 50 years. This has led to more inequality and a prevailing sense that the next generation may not be doing better, on average, than their parents.

Steyer agreed, noting that this generation is the first where the “core tenet of the American dream” – that you will leave your children a better future – may not come true.

Another key topic of concern for Generation Z is mental health, which has reached crisis levels in recent years among youth.

Here, too, the panel discussed how the issue intersects with the growing number of school shootings over recent decades, which has led students to feel more fearful and anxious. It was growing up near Parkland, Florida, where a high school mass shooting occurred in 2018, that motivated Badillo to pursue activism.

Badillo shared how he has been doing this work since he was 15; he said that while some progress has been made, change is incredibly slow.

“When you feel this sense of being stuck, of stagnation, and you’ve been fighting for so long, it’s no wonder that there’s a sense of anxiety and stress,” Badillo said.

In addition, Kagurabadza spoke about the psychological strain of growing up in a generation that has faced “the most consequential election of our lifetimes” every four years. The group talked further about how a narrative that describes elections as historic, consequential, existential even, can take an emotional toll.

“For as long as I’ve been conscious, I think every four years I’ve heard that this is the most consequential election of our lifetime,” Kagurabadza said. “And I think that’s really draining. I think it’s frankly concerning about the state of democracy, but I think it’s also been exhausting to hear at such a young age and growing up.”

Levin said he believed this framing has contributed to a sense of instability and fear about the future of U.S. democracy.

“I think it makes it very hard to have any sense of unity in the country,” Levin said.

Words of advice

In closing, Steyer asked the speakers to share their own advice to students.

Tubbs emphasized the importance of public service and getting involved in government: It is through policy where real change can be made on all issues facing citizens, he said.

“The problems we face may be difficult, it doesn’t make them unsolvable,” Tubbs said. “The inability to do everything isn’t an excuse to do nothing at all.”

Tubbs went on to describe the iterative nature of political change across U.S. history. “The story of our country is a story of progress, not perfection,” he said, pointing to the times that required “having very messy conflict to get [it] right.”

No matter the outcome of the 2024 election, there is going to be further reckoning required to address the country’s challenges, he said.

“I think that’s the moment we’re at now, regardless of who wins. … And I think that’s a privilege, and, dare I say, a joy, to have the ability to be part of that effort.”