The Maine Campus welcomes republication of this article by other news organizations. Read our republication policy for guidelines.
On Oct. 3, UMaine UVote announced a competition to design the University of Maine’s next “I Voted” sticker ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The competition spanned three weeks, with submissions due on Oct. 17 and the winner announced on Oct. 24. The winning sticker design features UMaine’s Legacy Bear logo depicted as the Statue of Liberty with the words “I Voted” underneath.
Sofia Pride, the winner of the competition, is a second-year accounting student. She is also the vice president of the UMaine College Republicans and a volunteer for U.S. Sen. Susan Collin’s campaign.
“[One of the biggest influences in entering the competition was] that my mom was raised in a communist country and so for her, moving to the United States [and] having the privilege to vote and pick who’s in charge of the country is a huge thing,” said Pride. “So when I saw the competition, I wanted to try it out and see what kind of drawing I could make.”
Pride said that the inspiration for the sticker came from an old UMaine logo she had seen, generally referred to as the Legacy Bear.
“I kind of just saw this older logo from UMaine when I was Googling UMaine logos and it’s literally the bear sitting that I have in my ‘I Voted’ sticker,” said Pride. “I was like, wouldn’t it be kinda cool if it was the Statue of Liberty, because it’s such a great representation of what freedom is in this country?”
When asked about her previous artistic experience, Pride explained that she had a background in photography and enjoyed drawing as a means of self-expression, but was new to digital illustration.
“I asked my 13-year-old sister how to draw on an iPad, and she taught me how,” said Pride.
She added that she heard the news that she had won the competition from a coworker while she was at a homecoming event with Sen. Collins.
“I really did want to win because I put in a lot of work. It took me, like, three hours to make that logo, to be completely honest,” said Pride. “I had people look at it, critique it, like all those things because I cared about it a lot. Once I had it in my head I was like, ‘I have to win this.’”
Pride shared that she was excited to see her sticker design making its way around campus.
“I’ve had so many people send me pictures and videos of it today,” she said. “I think a bunch of people are going to wear it tonight.”
Pride encouraged students to do their research before voting, but to go out and vote today even without extensive knowledge of the ballot.
“I’d prefer if you did research before you voted, obviously, but I think it’s great for people who haven’t voted before to just go check it out, and maybe even just vote for one candidate. You don’t have to vote for the whole ballot if you’re not necessarily comfortable voting for someone you haven’t researched before,” said Pride.
She also emphasized the importance of open mindedness in politics.
“Most of my friends have the complete opposite political views as I do,” said Pride. “Be open minded to meeting new people and maybe learning from them, because I learn a lot from all my friends and I wouldn’t have the political beliefs I have if I wasn’t going to hear them out and see where they’re coming from with their perspectives.”
Pride added that she voted early, so is ineligible to receive her sticker.
