Making a difference by mail

Photo/Mike Lovett

Dylan Corn '19 started postcarding while visiting home in Manhattan during her junior year. Her mom and her mom’s friends had been getting together to write personalized postcards to send to congress people and other politicians, and she joined in.

“I was kind of the token young person. I really loved doing it because it was a way to feel productive, and you can be really creative in trying to make the message something people will read,” she said.

Now, each time she visits home she comes back to campus with a stack of cards to fill out and stick in the mail. The recipients of the cards have expanded from specific politicians to people all over the country, with a message urging them to vote. Corn estimates she’s sent more than 500 to date.

Her involvement sending postcards got some media attention recently. Over the summer, a producer for the BBC put a callout on a postcarding Facebook page, looking for young people who are involved. After connecting with Corn, she was featured in a video, along with Julia Brown '19 and Lily Feinson '19, who have all been friends since spending a semester together in London through the Midyear Program.

Watch the video:

For these young Democrats there ain't no party like a postcard party... pic.twitter.com/pZaWB4lss9

— BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice) October 5, 2018

Corn grew up in a politically-minded household; from her third birthday spent at the Million Mom March in Washington, to high school, when she lead a group of teens to lobby for reproductive rights in Albany.

At Brandeis, Corn is a Roosevelt Fellow, an intern at the Hiatt Career Center, and a double-major in business and women’s, gender and sexuality studies. She never has trouble finding someone to have a conversation about politics and current events.

"I'm able to have these types of conversations not just with my friends, but with anybody. That's huge for me," she said. "Everyone is very well-informed and willing to engage."

Photo/Mike Lovett

A pile of postcards that Dylan Corn '19 personalized for voters.