No Vote, No Complaining Why Students Should Be Involved In Politics

No Vote, No Complaining Why Students Should Be Involved In Politics Photo credited to The Sentinel Welcome to the world of college. If you haven’t noticed by now, you’re on your own finally. You are now the master of your fate and you can steer this ship wherever you please, captain. Except you can’t. Last year’s elections were the worst in 72 years. No state achieved more than 60 percent voter turnout last November. Nationally, only 36.3 percent of the population voted. Take a moment to consider what you were doing November 4. Were you in class? Out with friends? Doing homework? Voting? If you answered no to the last one, you have no say in what happens in this country and consequently, to you. In a country as big as the U.S., it’s easy to think that your vote would not matter. It’s a common belief that many have. Someone else will take care of it. My vote’s not going to matter. I don’t know enough to vote. All of these ideas are common excuses used not to vote. Now you may be wondering, what this has to do with you. You’re just a college student. You’ve got school and probably a job to worry about. Why should you vote? Well, simply because you can. You dear reader are likely in a country where you have at least some say in what goes on nationally and certainly what goes on locally. If you have the fortune to attend a state sponsored school in your home state, you have a share in what goes on in your university’s hierarchy. Internationally, many are not so fortunate. According to the CIA Fact Book, most of the world has at least some form of representational government, be it a constitutional monarchy, a democratic republic, or some odd mix of other ideas. The point is that the U.S. is rather unusual in that since its inception, the country has had more voter control over the upper echelons. Originally, many positions in the U.S. government were appointed without voter approval like most notably, senators. In the world at large however, many countries have a large number of upper level control. If your country is a parliamentary republic, the common voter has no choice in the head of state. Instead, the voters elect a parliament, or sometimes just one house of a parliament, and then the house or houses of the parliament elect the head of state. In the U.S., we can elect the head of state and both houses of our legislative branch, something huge amounts of the world can’t do. On top of that, you as a new adult can vote in local government too. While the U.S. is a federal republic, where the central government has the last say, the local government is markedly more effective at getting things done than the monstrous bureaucratic behemoth that is Washington D.C. Consequently, the federal government has historically been less involved with local and state affairs with the notable exception being the Civil War. On top of voting, students should seek to find out political issues. College is a forum for discussion of ideas. Be they conflicting or complementing, the spread of ideas is how we keep this world rolling forward. Have a problem with police brutality? Dont just rant to your friends. Get attention for it. Let the people know whats going on. Stir up interest. If youve got a problem with something, chances are, someone else does too. Students are not powerless. They have voting power and are very active in communication. Some of the largest groups to lead the Arab Spring were students. They had the gumption to find out what was wrong, talk about it, and fix it. If students in the Middle East can rise up and overthrow dictators, look at what you might be able to accomplish on your campus. Students are in the public eye and always have been. Just look through history to see who political reformers where. They were usually young, ambitious and highly motivated. There are dozens of organizations across the nation formed and run by college students. The student government is an excellent place to start if you want something done on campus. Take care to be involved with them and your local government. Lastly, be sure to keep up with the national, and international news and vote in all elections. Do you like potholes? How about uneducated people? Hate libraries and highways? If you answered yes to any of those, then go ahead and don’t vote, because you will have no say in these things. They will be decided for you by an oligarchy of dedicated voters who will vote and impose their ideals on you through their voting. You are an adult now. As an adult, you have a national right and international privilege to vote for your national and local leaders. So take the time and find out more about local and national leaders and go vote.