Spring Break
Voting has more of an impact than you think
Kaley Relaz
Issue date: 1/14/08 Section: Opinion
Break is over, everyone. For some students, returning to school means playing "Rock Band" with roommates, showing off new clothes or just finally having some freedom to … ahem … participate in activities we enjoy. For others, coming back to Western Illinois University means it's time to buckle down in our classes. But for most, it's a combination of both.
It's important to consider that we as young Americans get to choose whether or not to take advantage of the work and play opportunities college life provides. But what is even more important to consider is that what allows us these privileges really boils down to our right to vote.
Voting in any election isn't something we necessarily have to do. It is something we get to do. We've all been informed in our history classes that we haven't always had this right. In colonial times, the right belonged solely to white men who owned property. By 1830, it was granted to white men regardless of property; by 1870, men regardless of race; by 1920, people regardless of gender; and finally by 1971, American citizens 18 or older.
We've all also probably seen the "Freedom isn't free" slogan on a bumper sticker somewhere. Even though it could likely be adjacent to one saying "GIT-R-DONE," it still rings true. Many young people still aren't grasping that responsibility because they're still not voting.
Perhaps this could be because some of us don't see how the government affects us. But what about our student loan interest rates, the jobs we have which still don't pay our bills even if some do happen to provide more than minimum wage, our rights to contraception and abortion or how we all have been affected by the war?
These are issues affecting us. However we individually feel about them, we all must be informed about the candidates who represent our feelings and how they plan to make necessary changes to our satisfaction.
And for the people with the "my one vote doesn't count" excuse, consider this: One vote was responsible for allowing Texas and Alaska to become states of the U.S., women gaining the right to vote, John F. Kennedy gaining the presidency over Richard Nixon in 1960, Adolph Hitler becoming the leader of the Nazi Party and the list could go on.
It's important to consider that we as young Americans get to choose whether or not to take advantage of the work and play opportunities college life provides. But what is even more important to consider is that what allows us these privileges really boils down to our right to vote.
Voting in any election isn't something we necessarily have to do. It is something we get to do. We've all been informed in our history classes that we haven't always had this right. In colonial times, the right belonged solely to white men who owned property. By 1830, it was granted to white men regardless of property; by 1870, men regardless of race; by 1920, people regardless of gender; and finally by 1971, American citizens 18 or older.
We've all also probably seen the "Freedom isn't free" slogan on a bumper sticker somewhere. Even though it could likely be adjacent to one saying "GIT-R-DONE," it still rings true. Many young people still aren't grasping that responsibility because they're still not voting.
Perhaps this could be because some of us don't see how the government affects us. But what about our student loan interest rates, the jobs we have which still don't pay our bills even if some do happen to provide more than minimum wage, our rights to contraception and abortion or how we all have been affected by the war?
These are issues affecting us. However we individually feel about them, we all must be informed about the candidates who represent our feelings and how they plan to make necessary changes to our satisfaction.
And for the people with the "my one vote doesn't count" excuse, consider this: One vote was responsible for allowing Texas and Alaska to become states of the U.S., women gaining the right to vote, John F. Kennedy gaining the presidency over Richard Nixon in 1960, Adolph Hitler becoming the leader of the Nazi Party and the list could go on.
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