For UNC-Chapel Hill senior Nick Willets, his road to political activism began on August 28, 2023. On that day, Tailei Qi, a 34-year-old graduate student, allegedly shot and killed Prof. Zijie Yan, 40, inside the Caudill Laboratories building on the historic campus, sending the campus into lockdown for three hours.

 

“I just remember being fearful, shocked and scared that this was happening on our campus,” Willets said. “Growing up in this generation where you’ve seen school shooting after school shooting, I was like, ‘It won’t happen to me,’ and here I am, my first week at Carolina.”

 

Sloan Duvall, a recent UNC graduate and former president of the UNC Young Democrats, said her fear and terror on that fateful day quickly turned into steely resolve.

 

“I think very rapidly, as that day progressed, myself and other student activists on campus really jumped into action thinking, ‘What can we do to give students an outlet to express their anger over this situation,’” Duvall recalled. “We wanted to kind of move beyond thoughts and prayers and turn that into action almost immediately after this terrible event happened on our campus.”

 

Transforming outrage into action

UNC Young Democrats joined Students Demand Action to organize a rally just two days after the on-campus tragedy. The event featured an impressive lineup of speakers including David Hogg, Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and founder of March for Our Lives; Anderson Clayton, chair of the NC Democratic Party; NC Sen. Graig Meyer; and NC Rep. Allen Buansi.

 

Willets joined more than 600 students, faculty and UNC staff members gathered on the steps of South Building in late August, and it marked a turning point in his life.

 

“I’ve never been politically involved before but when I heard Rep. Allen Buansi and Sen. Graig Meyer would be speaking, I was like, ‘This could be a cool opportunity to meet some people,’ so I went and checked it out,” Willets told The Carrboro Defender.  “And I actually ended up joining UNC Young Democrats because of that rally, and got super involved in it, and then somehow became president of it.”

 

Duvall said the message UNC students sent to lawmakers in the NC General Assembly that day was simple and straightforward: “Enough is enough.”

 

UNC students began to connect the dots between the actions of elected representatives in Raleigh that have paved the way for almost anyone to get their hands on a Glock 9mm handgun like the kind allegedly used by Tailei Qi to murder Prof. Zijie Yan, Duvall said.

 

“This [tragedy] had come just a few months after our North Carolina legislature had repealed the pistol permit purchase requirement [Senate Bill 41], and then to have a direct consequence of that action occur on our campus, was really powerful for students to make the connection between what had happened to us and real decisions that were being made in our state government,” she added.

 

Under North Carolina law, there would’ve been no way for Tailei Qi, an international student in the United States on a non-immigrant visa, to legally purchase or possess a handgun at the time of Prof. Zijie Yan’s murder even after Republicans overrode then-Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 41. However, Qi could have acquired the Glock 9mm handgun via an illegal straw purchase or bought the handgun from a private seller in violation of state law.

 

Indifference of lawmakers in Raleigh

Ashley Ju, a UNC junior studying public policy who serves as president of Students Demand Action, said the aftermath of the on-campus tragedy made it clear the NC GOP isn’t listening to the voices of UNC students, and politicians in Raleigh don't actually care about the safety and well-being of the 46,000 members of the University community.

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Ju helped organize a rally at the NC General Assembly two weeks after the murder of Prof. Zijie Yan. UNC students called upon lawmakers to pass common-sense gun laws that protect all North Carolina residents but were met with indifference and contempt. UNC students gathered in the gallery of the NC House and chanted, “Vote them out!" Student protestors were quickly escorted out of the chamber by the NCGA Police, as then-Speaker of the House Tim Moore reportedly made light of the situation, chiding the students by stating, “This isn’t a pep rally. This is the House of Representatives.”

 

Days after the rally in Raleigh, Mickel Deonte Harris allegedly confronted an employee at the Alpine Bagel shop inside the Frank Porter Graham Student Union on the UNC campus by brandishing a firearm in full view of dozens of Carolina students, sending the campus into yet another lockdown. According to court records, Harris, who has no affiliation with UNC-Chapel Hill, had an existing arrest warrant and a lengthy criminal history at the time of the incident. 

 

“I just remember that within those two weeks [between lockdowns], I was doing as much as I could do — talking to state representatives, rallying students, and I remember so many times, state legislators laughing in our face," Ju said. “So the second incident made me so angry, because I thought, ‘There’s no wonder this keeps happening. It’s because politicians aren’t doing anything about it.’”

 

Reason for hope 

Despite the recent spate of gun violence on college campuses across the nation in recent years, the collective outrage of young people has not yet translated into a significant increase in their collective level of civic engagement. 

 

A 2025 study authored by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University estimated the national turnout rate for voters ages 18 to 29 actually dropped from the 2020 presidential election to the 2024 presidential election. 

 

However, the 47% youth voter turnout in 2024 represents a marked improvement from the 2016 presidential election, when only 39% of young people nationally cast ballots in the presidential race.

 

According to the study, youth voter turnout in North Carolina in the 2024 presidential election roughly equaled the 2020 turnout rate — around 50% of 18 to 29-year-olds in the state cast their ballots in 2024, but only 51% of young voters supported Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, while 46% of the state’s young voters supported Donald Trump. The 5-point margin marks a significant drop from President Joe Biden’s 16-point margin over Donald Trump among North Carolina's young voters in 2020.

 

Last month, however,  North Carolina Democrats received a huge boost during the November 4 elections.

 

“We were really excited to see the Democratic sweep that we had — not just in places like Virginia and New Jersey, but  amazing victories for Democrats in North Carolina, too,” Anderson Clayton, chair of the NC Democratic Party, told The Carrboro Defender. 

 

North Carolina Democrats enjoyed historic wins in the more than 550 cities, towns and villages across the state on November 4, 2025. Still, voter participation for the off-year election was less than ideal. According to the NC State Board of Elections, only 19.75% of voters registered in municipalities with elections on November 4 exercised their franchise.

 

Despite relatively low voter turnout numbers, there was much for North Carolina Democrats to celebrate, including a burgeoning youth movement within its party ranks.

 

Fresh voices 

“We brought down the average age of our State Executive Committee, which I think is exciting, but I’ve definitely seen a lot of young people step up to run for office, and I think it’s just because they’re motivated by what they’re seeing across our state — Republicans who have refused to fully fund our public schools that are now attacking higher education,” Clayton said.

 

The State Executive Committee [SEC] is the primary governing body of the NC Democratic Party, responsible for making top-level decisions at the state level.

 

Clayton, 27, holds the distinction of being the youngest Democratic Party chair in the nation.

 

“I’m encouraged by both the county party chairs and the precinct chairs who are young and have stepped up, and also the young folks who are running for office,” Clayton said.

 

Clayton cited the success stories of NC Rep. Dante Pittman, 29, a Democrat from Wilson County, who was elected last year, and NC Rep. Jordan Lopez, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, who was elected to the NC House Of Representatives at the age of 27, as proof that there is a growing youth movement within the party.

 

Emerson Kirby, chair of the Durham County Democrats is a reflection of the Democratic Party leaning heavily into the youth vote. A 2024 graduate of Duke University, Kirby enjoys the distinction of being one of the youngest county party chairs in North Carolina at 24 years of age.

 

“Young people are definitely starting to plug in more,” Kirby said. “One thing that I hope to do as chair is show young people that they can take on not just a role, but a leadership role to help shape their local party, which shapes the state party and ultimately, the national party.”

 

Lynn McGee, chair of the Orange County Democrats, said the focal point for her organization has been to move beyond voter registration drives on the UNC campus, and instead engage in a robust dialogue with young voters to encourage them to run for elected office in Orange County and beyond.

 

“If we can carry that torch for the Democratic Party by educating these young candidates on how the Democratic Party can support them with access to Votebuilder, teach them how to canvas effectively — as long as they have the passion and the willingness to work, we can connect them with the right resources,” McGee said.

 

Down Home NC, a community organizing group that focuses on rural areas of North Carolina including Alamance County, has created a candidate training program to help identify leaders residing in small towns across the state, providing individuals with knowledge and  encouragement on how  to be effective leaders in their own communities. 

 

“We take them through trainings — how to do fundraising, how to canvas, and how to show up as a viable candidate who will stand out when they ultimately run for their positions,” said Tai Coates-Wedde, communications director for Down Home NC.

 

Down Home NC also enjoyed a number of success stories on November 4, 2025. Graduates of their candidate academy included Democrat Beth Kennett, who was elected mayor of Burlington; Democrat Ian Baltutis, who was elected to the Burlington City Council, and Isaac Davis, who became the first Black person ever to win a seat on the Midland Town Council.

 

The North Carolina Democratic Party provides significant resources and support for Democrats who are running for the first time, regardless of age, Clayton said.

 

“We’ve got 25 full-time staff members, which means we’ve got seven that are year-round organizers,” she said. “My field organizers will help make a field plan for folks that are running with the party, and anybody else that needs a website or digital support, the party will do that for them, too, so it’s been exciting to see that growth.”

 

The path to victory in 2026

Democrat Barbara Foushee won a second term as Mayor of Carrboro on November 4. Foushee, the first Black woman to serve as Carrboro’s mayor, said she’s heartened by the infusion of fresh voices but believes party unity remains the key to turning the state blue in 2026.

 

“It’s great that we have young people like Anderson Clayton, but it’s really is going to take a multilayered approach, and sticking together here in North Carolina and not being fractured,” Foushee said. “We have this new energy at the top of the party and Anderson has been influential, particularly among young people, which we need — but it’s going to take all of us.”

 

Clayton said she and her 25 staff members have heeded the call for unity by not suppressing dialogue within the party. 

 

“I think a lot of times our party wants to control the narrative, and I think that right now we need ‘small D’ democracy in every way,” Clayton said. 

 

“ I've tried to make it so that the party is accessible — many times the critique [is] we put a thumb on the scale, and I'm really trying to tell people, ‘'No actually, I want to make sure everybody can run,’ which is why we give out free Votebuilder access to anybody that's running for office. It's trying to democratize data and actually level the playing field and how the party can help support anybody who is willing to run for office to actually get there.”

 

NC Rep. Graig Meyer, a Democrat who represents parts of Orange, Caswell and Person counties, said the benefits of the recent  influx of youthful energy and enthusiasm is a very specific skill set and intuition around messaging and social media platforms.

 

Meyer launched Beacon Media in 2024 to address news and information deserts in North Carolina’s rural areas, and his weekly Substack posts  routinely receive up to 100,000 views.

 

“There was a point in time where I was one of the main voices from the [North Carolina] General Assembly Democrats on various platforms — Twitter, Facebook, and the social media of the day, and at this point, I’ve been surpassed by people who are sometimes a little younger, a little more nimble than me and using formats like the vertical video format that dominates most of social media channels right now,” he said.

 

Elections have consequences

NC Senate Bill 50, otherwise known as the "Freedom to Carry Bill,"  would have removed the requirement for a concealed handgun permit in North Carolina, lowering the age to carry a concealed handgun from 21 to 18. The bill also would eliminate mandatory firearms safety and training courses for gun owners. The legislature passed the bill earlier this year, but Gov. Josh Stein vetoed it, and Republicans did not have enough votes in the NC House to override Stein’s veto. However, the bill is on the legislative calendar for January 12, 2026, where it appears House Republicans will once again attempt to override Gov. Stein's veto.

 

Duvall cited Senate Bill 50 as a good example of how electing a Democratic governor who supports common-sense gun safety laws protects all North Carolinians, including all members of the University community.

 

Gun violence remains the number one cause of death for children and teenagers in the United States, and n the final analysis, it is young people who will have to become better informed and more engaged politically if they ever hope to put a stop to mass shootings on high school and college campuses, Duvall said.

 

“It's really up to our generation to make change happen,” she stated..

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Ashley Ju cited the December 13 mass shooting that unfolded on the Brown University campus that left two people dead and 9 people injured as a stark reminder that gun violence on college campuses will not abate until our elected leaders take decisive action. Therefore, it’s imperative she and her fellow UNC students do not get discouraged, but persist.

 

“Classmates will say, ‘Oh, I do care about this issue deeply, but it’s hard to get involved and stay active,’” Ju said. “And even for me, I get burned out pretty frequently — it’s one of those things where I care so deeply about it, but nothing is happening time and time again. So I try to remember the wins we’ve had — getting people to stay active and stay hopeful, believing that things can actually change by all of us being a voice for UNC students to keep up the fight to end gun violence.”

 

“All I can do is get people to care, and that alone is difficult enough," she added.​​