TerpsVote Students Debut Marshall Magazine
Magazine aims to inspire students to vote by ‘making politics accessible’
A new University of Maryland student magazine is attempting to flip the script; instead of being a political magazine that covers the goings-on of elected officials, it covers the people with the power to put elected officials in office.
Marshall, which is now available digitally and in print in Adele H. Stamp Student Union Suite 1110, seeks to inspire students to vote by showing them how much politics affect their everyday lives, and how much power they truly do have to enact change on the issues they care about. It is produced by students who are a part of TerpsVote, a nonpartisan initiative at the University of Maryland whose mission is to increase civic engagement at UMD.
The idea for Marshall arose from the TerpsVote students’ conversations about how to get more of their peers interested in voting in the upcoming midterm elections.
“There was a 2023 poll that showed that 94% of UMD students think voting is important, but only 62% of them actually voted the previous year,” said TerpsVote intern and Marshall Editor in Chief Anderson Harlor. “We hope that reading Marshall will help students see how politics relates to them, how it’s present in their everyday lives, and give them the extra nudge they need to make the change that they are capable of doing.”
In its inaugural 32-page issue, Marshall has sections on local, state and federal news, as well as a fun and games section created by sophomore government and politics student Jill Brennan, which includes entertaining questions and answers posted in the University of Maryland: College Park (UMD) Parents of Terps Facebook group. Marshall also has a music section, which explores how contemporary issues influence the discographies of the most popular musicians, and the campaign platforms of the most popular politicians alike.
The music section in particular is a favorite of Harlor — a sophomore philosophy, politics and economics and government and politics double major — and the three TerpsVote ambassadors who are the co-creators. They are Luisa Depkin, sophomore global and foreign policy major with a minor in international development and conflict management; Bevin Brottman, senior public policy major; and Ava Rowledge, sophomore international relations and social data science double major.
“The music section is really cool,” said Brottman, who took the lead on the magazine’s music section and the state section. “We talk about Daisy Chain Fields, the Olivia Rodrigo festival where net proceeds went to various nonprofits, and the All Things Go Music Festival that Anderson and I went to, where the artists talked about the importance of voting in November, and the issues that they support or oppose in the current political climate.”
Depkin, who was the lead for the local section, said that Marshall making connections between pop culture and politics will hopefully help students see that their vote does matter.
“I like to remind people that one of our councilmen won by only three votes, so if just four more people have gone out to the polls, we would potentially have different legislation in the community right now,” she added.
Rowledge, who worked as press intern on Capitol Hill this past summer, was the lead of the magazine’s federal section.
“There’s a lot of history in politics, and especially for me, when I was writing the federal section, there was a lot of legislation that was confusing,” she said. “I think that one of the most important things that Marshall does is break down very complicated, very minute and complex information into digestible, easily accessible pieces for the public to understand. It makes it so that people can feel that they can understand and relate to the content, compared to some of the loftiness that often comes with communicating a lot of these complex issues.”
While none of the Marshall founders necessarily plan to pursue careers in publishing — Depkin is considering working for the United Nations or State Department; Brottman is considering a career in politics or the nonprofit sector; Rowledge is interested in focusing her future work on U.S.-China trade relations; and Harlor is still considering his options — they say that they have gained a lot from the experience of putting Marshall together.
“There’s one thing that’s remained a constant in my life, and that’s a passion for inclusion, which is what Marshall is all about,” Harlor said. “For whatever reason, a lot of people feel like they don’t have a place at the table, and that contributes to a lot of injustice in the country because a lot of people don’t vote, and then the policies that are created negatively affect them. We want to bring more people into the process, and if Marshall can help give more people a voice, that, in my mind, makes it a complete success.”
Inaugural issues of Marshall will be distributed by members of TerpsVote, and Testudo, in front of McKeldin Library from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28.
The founders of Marshall thank Arts for All, The Center for Social Value Creation, The College of Arts and Humanities, The College of Behavioral & Social Sciences, The College of Information, The Division of Student Affairs, The Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities, and The University Libraries for providing financial support for the magazine.
The founders are currently working on its next issue, which they hope to publish in Fall 2027. If you have a story idea or would like to be involved in the production of Marshall’s Fall 2027 issue, reach out to TerpsVote (terpsvote@umd.edu) or Anderson Harlor (aharlor@umd.edu).
This article by Rachael Grahame originally appeared on the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences' website.
Published on Wed, 10/28/2026 - 10:30