Senior government and politics and information systems major

Before I even get to the serious stuff, let me tell you a quick story. There’s a good chance this silly memory might make you wonder, “What’s the point?” But you’ll just have to trust me.

It was 2002, and I was a third-grader in Mrs. Holmes’ class. Unfortunately, my elementary school’s administration was not intelligent, as they thought it made perfect sense to impose a no-bathroom-break rule on all students. Speculating that kids would abuse the extensive three whole minutes of free time they would have with a bathroom break, the administration prohibited anyone from going to the bathroom during class. As an obvious result, it wasn’t rare for innocent, sweet kids to face the terrible tragedy associated with no-bathroom-break rules — the policy correlated with an increase in accidents across all classrooms.

One afternoon, regretting my decision to drink three cartons of Hi-C during lunch, I had to go. After begging my teacher profusely to let me use the bathroom, she yelled at me in front of the class and made me sit in the corner of the room. I’d had enough. I understood the doom that I was about to face, so I decided to take advantage of it. I stood out of my chair, walked straight to my teacher’s desk and peed on the floor right next to her favorite chair. (Please don’t judge me — I was 8 years old at the time and had a low tolerance for nonsense.)

The event resulted in a trip to the principal’s office and a call to my parents, but my parents sided with me, saying the policy resulted in more time punishing students than trusting them to be responsible. Not only did my parents tell other parents about the rule, but kids who witnessed my bravery told their parents, who subsequently voted to eliminate it at a parent-teacher meeting. It was a bathroom choice revolution.

So that was my first experience in politics. Although I’d never commit that type of action ever again, it reminds me how carefree 8-year-olds are toward fixing things — about getting rid of stupid rules and not fearing judgment by “the establishment.”

Although being young typically is associated with being active, I’m appalled by the extremely low level of political efficacy college students have today.

In the 2012 election, young people aged 18 to 29 made up about one-fifth of the nation’s electorate, according to an exit poll from Edison Research. However, only half of potential voters age 18 to 29 were registered, the lowest rate in the past 16 years, according to the Pew Research Center.

Sadly, we’ve tolerated not paying attention to the news or caring about politics. Being well represented in the electorate is not enough. For instance, less than half of us know simple facts about Congress or federal elections, according to a study at Tufts University.

So how do we solve this problem? According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, more young people will get involved when someone in their close network persuades them to do so. Our political knowledge stems from the people we talk to and the networks we maintain (like my classmates’ parents). We should take advantage of the fact that we can influence others through student organizations and events. To those who don’t care, you can get involved easily — following a news source on Twitter requires minimal effort.

Politics is, unfortunately, everything. It determines the taxes we pay, the rights we have and the lifestyle we choose. Although I would never recommend urinating in a classroom, I think we all need the inner strength and retaliation third-graders miraculously have. Maybe some day we can all help get rid of stupid policies, too.

Caroline Carlson is a junior government and politics and information systems major. She can be reached at ccarlsondbk@gmail.com.