Having a polling station at SLU is no longer a luxury afforded only for the presidential election. Thanks in part to College Democrats President Lauren Khouri, the polling station in the Busch Student Center will open its doors again for local primary elections on March 3 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Despite her involvement with the College Dems, “everything I’m doing for the local election here is totally bipartisan,” she said. “It’s less about a candidate and more about SLU being a part of the St. Louis City community.”

She praised the new measure, saying that it shows that SLU is “willing to take the time” to invest itself in being a part of the city.

“Our vote as a student body could make a significant difference in the way the city is run,” she said. “Your one vote is huge.”

Dean of Students Scott Smith echoed this.

“To make this so easily accessible to students-I think it’s a wonderful idea,” he said. “I’d like to think that’s the spirit of the [Jesuit] mission and what we’re all about.”

In conjunction with the newly established polling station at SLU, Khouri founded a bipartisan grassroots group called SLU for St. Louis, which works to promote SLU student involvement in St. Louis.

“We’re young . men and women for others,” she said. “We could make a huge difference in the city.”

SLU students had mixed reactions about the election.

Kalé Kponee, a sophomore from Nebraska said that she knows “absolutely nothing” about the upcoming primary. However, she thinks following local politics is important.

“You need to be informed about where you’re at,” Kponee said. “Local politics can be even more important than global politics because it can affect you more personally.”

Rohini Jaglan, a freshman from Wisconsin, said she did not know anything about the upcoming election.

“I don’t know who the mayor is right now, and I don’t think whoever the new mayor is will affect me,” she said.

Additional reporting by Ian Darnell and Adam Tamburin.