2008 Woodie Awards
Voting represents students' voices, power in society
Donnae Wahl
Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: Features
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Our generation has watched as the governments of the world failed to live up to what was seen as their responsibilities.
We have seen this everywhere from the impotence of the government during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the handling of the war in Iraq and the failure of the world community to act upon the atrocities in Darfur.
All these events have one thing in common; they have sparked a groundswell of political activity in an otherwise apathetic generation. Thousands have protested, organized, volunteered, built houses, wrote letters and participated in some way to get their voices heard. This is still not enough.
As we all know, politicians follow the money, and frankly, as college students, we don't have any. What we do have is voting power. By voting we are using our voices in the most powerful way we can, we are telling those in charge what we want and if they don't give it to us, we will find someone who will.
Some may say this view is idealistic and na've, but I would ask them to look at the facts. Senior citizens vote in record numbers and politicians take note. They flaunt plans on social security, Medicare and retirement options. Americans who live in the suburbs vote in large numbers as well, and as a result we see candidates who have education reform plans, easing financial burdens on the middle-class and providing healthcare. There are rarely discussions on college tuition, lowering the debt of college graduates or smoking out corruption within college administrations.
There is hope though, according to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), the 2006 midterm elections showed the highest level of youth voter participation in a decade. Americans ages 18-29 had a turnout rate of 49 percent. Now imagine if we increase those numbers by 10 or 20 percent, as well as keep up with civic engagement. This would force politicians to take notice of college students' interest and enact more legislation on our behalf.
Presidential candidate Barack Obama has said, "Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about…we give too much of our power away to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result."
Even if you don't agree with Obama's politics, everyone can agree that it is up to each individual citizen to make a change, and that change starts in the voting booth.
- Donnae Wahl is a junior political science major and The Mirror's arts and entertainment editor.
We have seen this everywhere from the impotence of the government during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the handling of the war in Iraq and the failure of the world community to act upon the atrocities in Darfur.
All these events have one thing in common; they have sparked a groundswell of political activity in an otherwise apathetic generation. Thousands have protested, organized, volunteered, built houses, wrote letters and participated in some way to get their voices heard. This is still not enough.
As we all know, politicians follow the money, and frankly, as college students, we don't have any. What we do have is voting power. By voting we are using our voices in the most powerful way we can, we are telling those in charge what we want and if they don't give it to us, we will find someone who will.
Some may say this view is idealistic and na've, but I would ask them to look at the facts. Senior citizens vote in record numbers and politicians take note. They flaunt plans on social security, Medicare and retirement options. Americans who live in the suburbs vote in large numbers as well, and as a result we see candidates who have education reform plans, easing financial burdens on the middle-class and providing healthcare. There are rarely discussions on college tuition, lowering the debt of college graduates or smoking out corruption within college administrations.
There is hope though, according to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), the 2006 midterm elections showed the highest level of youth voter participation in a decade. Americans ages 18-29 had a turnout rate of 49 percent. Now imagine if we increase those numbers by 10 or 20 percent, as well as keep up with civic engagement. This would force politicians to take notice of college students' interest and enact more legislation on our behalf.
Presidential candidate Barack Obama has said, "Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about…we give too much of our power away to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result."
Even if you don't agree with Obama's politics, everyone can agree that it is up to each individual citizen to make a change, and that change starts in the voting booth.
- Donnae Wahl is a junior political science major and The Mirror's arts and entertainment editor.
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