Purdue graduate student voted as a DNC delegate

Instead of getting adjusted back to campus life, Purdue graduate student Reed Davisson spent his first week of classes at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Davisson said he attended the Democratic National Convention to be another voice in the conversation about “sustainability and the climate crisis.”
Photo provided by Reed Davisson
“I wanted to become a delegate to represent my great state,” he said in an email to the Exponent. “As somebody who researches sustainable tourism development, I wanted to make sure that there was another voice talking about sustainability and the climate crisis.”
Davisson, who studies hospitality and tourism management, said he was unable to talk with the Exponent because he “lost his voice from shouting with excitement on the floor of the DNC.”
“I have never seen so many excited people in a room before.”
Davisson, from northern Indiana, was a part of the Indiana delegation who had their vote cast by Sean Astin, an actor who has frequently played Hoosiers in film.
Astin played Rudy Ruettiger in “Rudy,” a movie about a young man’s journey to get into and play for the University of Notre Dame, as well as Bob Newby in “Stranger Things,” which takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.
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Davisson, whose research focuses on the climate crisis, said he was surprised to meet leaders in the climate movement.
“I was fortunate enough to meet the secretary of the interior who oversees all public lands, the former head of the EPA, and legislators who are ensuring that I have a future on a planet that I can survive on.”
He also said it was inspiring to speak to other Hoosier democrats, who he described as “punching above their weight.”
“It was an honor to be part of the delegation. I would do it again and again,” he said. “Connecting with other Hoosiers to learn not only their perspective but why they have it.”
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