Wednesday, February 16, 2011

VOTE!

Students cast their votes for Student Union Senate representatives. Approaches taken to these elections have historically varied. In some years, students unite behind candidates and talking points; in many others, students simply do not see reason to care. So this is the reasons:

1. Many people vote while thinking of other constituencies: older folks, people without health insurance, and the like. But very few voters are focused specifically on the needs of college students. When issues like student loan rates, educational standards, and admissions policies are on the ballot, who else is better qualified to vote than those currently experiencing the implications of such initiatives

  1. With 44 million millennial voters eligible to vote, your vote can make a huge difference when banded with others in your demographic.
  2. You're in college. You're expanding your mind, your spirit, your life. You're challenging yourself in new and exciting ways and learning things you may not have ever considered before. But when the time comes, you're going to pass on empowering yourself by voting? Really?
  3. No matter your race, gender or age, your right to vote came at a price. Honor the sacrifices others made so that your voice could be heard when theirs wasn't.
  1. True, it may be a representative democracy, but your elected representatives still need to know how their constituents think in order to accurately represent them. They are counting on your vote as part of that process.
  2. Despite conventional attitudes about college students not being in the "real world," much of your daily life involves very serious and important decisions. You manage your finances; you are taking charge of your education and career; you are doing your best, every day, to improve yourself through higher education. In essence, you are becoming an adult (if you aren't one already). Your vote, then, matters most because you are finally able to cast it. Go voice your opinions on issues, policies, candidates, and referendums. Stand up for what you believe in. Vote!

No comments:

Post a Comment