There seems to be quite a bit of pressure on newly elected president Emma Simson and her SGA underlings to start the voter registration drive as soon as possible. The SGA’s primary goal of urging student voting in both the primary elections in September and the midterm elections in November is spirited.
This campus is wildly apathetic, and registering students in time for both elections could trump this apathy and create a body of young and engaged citizens!
Unfortunately, it won’t.
Registering students to vote just isn’t enough. The only way to conquer this odious apathy is to make students care about the issues and make them want to vote.
Simply casting a ballot isn’t quite enough either. These student voters must be educated voters – educated on the issues and educated on the candidates. To think that many Americans actually vote on the basis of which candidate is cuter, more charming, more manly or would make the better friend repulses me.
Obviously, the goal should not only be to register as many students as possible. The goal should also be to educate and inform as many students as possible.
The first hurdle to overcome is that people must be convinced their votes – get ready – actually do make a difference. Every election year I bicker and squabble with people about why they don’t want to vote. Apparently, their votes “don’t count anyway.” Idiocy! Sure, one vote probably wouldn’t sway an election, but if every student who believes their voice to be meaningless were to vote, imagine what an impact it could make. At the least, politicians would be forced to pay attention to students and the issues that affect them.
After students are convinced their voice is actually heard through the political jungle, they must be informed on the issues and the candidates to be able to make a smart decision on whom to vote for.
The Student Government Association should run non-partisan informative campaigns on a number of major issues that promise to be important to the upcoming elections and affect students as well. And don’t think there aren’t any issues that affect students. Perhaps you don’t think the war in Iraq, Medicare and corruption in the Republican Party are issues that directly affect you, but what about gasoline prices, tuition increases, immigration laws, LGBT rights, stem cell research funding, abortion laws?
The SGA should also make sure that information on how to vote is widely and easily accessible. Many students don’t vote because they don’t know where to vote if they do not belong to a local voting district. Out-of-state students must fill out absentee ballots. How do they do that? And, especially true in this year’s midterm elections, no one seems to know who their local candidates are. All of this information should be easily accessible to students.
I write this call to arms directed at the SGA, because it’s the only group that seems to be active. Though really, it should be directed at the College Republicans and the College Democrats (and other political student groups) that are informing students. But where are they? It is an election year and I have not seen a single information table, demonstration or leafleting pertaining to the elections. Frankly, this lack of student political involvement indicates whether the College Democrats and College Republicans are truly worth their SGA budgets.
These upcoming elections are important. They have the potential to effect serious change on the Hill and within the different states. So, beloved reader, please vote. But don’t just vote. Do your research first. Know what you are voting for and why. And, hopefully, the SGA and other student organizations will do their part to light a fire under the collective bum of our student body.
Anika Fontaine is a junior marketing major. She can be reached at amfontaine@comcast.net.
