Do it for the Future

The fateful day is still over a month away, but the blood is already in the water, and not just proverbially. That's right, midterm elections are upon us.

Politicians are feverishly posturing, campaign workers are toiling for the final push to the polls, the columnists on these pages are giddy with anticipation, and the electorate remains unmoved. More importantly, the college electorate is largely oblivious to the entire event.

While the 2004 election saw an upswing in voting in national elections by 18 to 24 year olds, the United States' youngest voters remain poorly represented at the polls in comparison to their older counterparts. Older voters decry the apathy of America's youth, but these voters have their reasons. Voter registration by mail and applying for absentee ballots can be both complicated and time consuming. Though perhaps unintentionally, the government disenfranchises the nation's educated youth.

Sadly, the lack of a voice for college students shows in the policies of our lawmakers. In the past decade alone, debt levels for college students has doubled. Student Debt Alert projects the national student debt to be over $438 billion and rising by thousands of dollars every second. Rather than celebrating and helping students that have dedicated years of their lives to an education that will only better themselves and society, policymakers reduce the support offered to these students.

One must also not forget that it is this same underrepresented portion of the electorate that is fighting the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, and countless other places around the world. The people that declared it necessary to take over two countries in the name of democracy are not those that must die for that decision.

Beyond the policies that directly pertain to young voters, American politics lacks a strong voice for progressive lawmaking that college-age voters can and ought to bring. The Virginia General Assembly has proposed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages that Virginians will vote on next month. Similar bans are on the ballots in Idaho and Kansas.

Also on the Virginia ballot is a proposed tax cut targeted at real estate owners seeking to develop or redevelop properties. One can guarantee that landowners will be well represented at the ballot box, but I doubt that title applies to few readers of this article. Where is the voice of the student?

As people that neither own land or possess large amounts of money (if any at all), it is far too easy for the government to ignore the youth of the nation. The laws they then create restrict the wealth and power of the ruling class to fewer and fewer people. The burden of student debt and long-term occupations of foreign nations will restrain the abilities and futures of our generation for years to come while the corporations reap the profits of our work.

The answer to these ills lies in the one place that the powers that be cannot restrict the voice of the student: the ballot box. The word "democracy" has been thoroughly sullied in its frequent use in our occupation of Iraq, but we thankfully have the right to vote our peace on the actions of our government leaders. Our silence merely affirms the status quo, which of late has meant war and hardship for ourselves and others around the world.

Only a few days remain for voter registration and application for absentee ballots, but the effects of this election will last for many years to come. We as students must ensure that our voice is heard.

Contact Galen @ galen.wenger@emu.edu