According to a study done by TuftsUniversity, eighty-eight percent of students who discuss politics and current
events outside of class on a near-daily basis said they went to the polls on
election day. That turnout, however, drops to 66 percent for those who discuss
politics outside of class only a few times a month. Overall though, in the 2008
presidential election, only 51% of the population of college aged students
(18-29) voted. This was an increase from
the 2004 presidential elections. That means that in the last two presidential
elections, barely half of all college students in this nation voted. That is crazy to think about. Students could have much more influence on
what happens if they would participate.
If a larger majority of students would vote, they could have enough say
to impact which candidate wins. So what is keeping the majority of students
from voting?
As a college student, I plan to
vote in the upcoming elections. I want
to be informed about each of the candidates and the policies they support. However, like most students my age, I am
extremely busy. I have classes, sports,
work, homework, and so many other random things that I have to get done. Finding time to sit down and learn about each
candidate is nearly impossible, and I do not feel that I should vote without
knowing as much as I can about each candidate.
This leads me to believe that the lack of time and knowledge is one
factor that keeps students from voting.
Another factor that might keep
students from voting is overall laziness.
I hate to say it, but some students probably just don’t care to get to
the polls. Or if they do care, they might be too lazy to actually go get it
done.
Yet another factor that might keep
students from voting is the fact that many have gone to out of state
colleges. So how do you vote if you go
to an out of state college? That’s the
point. You really can’t. Many students
who want to register to vote are turned away because they do not have a state
driver’s license. Others are turned away
if it is found out that they paid out of state tuition. If you lived close enough to your home town,
you might be able to make a quick trip home to vote. For those people that moved more than a state
away that is not a very good option. Students need to vote. Whatever is keeping them from voting, whether
it be time, lack of knowledge, or anything else, they need to learn how to get
past it and vote. Students can make a
difference and they are part of this country so they should have a say in what
happens here.
I completely agree with you Carly. I also believe that it is very imporant for college students to vote. I also agree that there are many factors keeping us, students, from voting. I'm 19 years old and even with the upcoming election I have yet to register to vote. Registering has been on my list of things to do for over a year now but like all the other students, I am very busy and keep pushing it off.
ReplyDeleteEven though I plan on registering and voting in the upcoming election, I also feel that maybe I shouldn't vote. Being such a busy young adult, I feel that I do not have enough knowledge on the canidates to properly vote. So I agree that this also could be one of the factors keeping many others from voting.
Whether it is our schedules, our lack of knowledge, or other factors, it is easy to pass up one election or another and not put our opinions out.
I agree that college students are lazy. I have not yet registered to vote and I probably will not register in any foreseeable future. Some of the reason is that I am never really that informed on the candidates, which is mostly my fault for not going out and researching them and their policies, but most of the reason is that from what I usually see about the candidates I do not like. If I see something about a candidate, whether it be on TV or the internet it is usually some smear campaign, negative ads, or someone bad-mouthing another candidate. I do not want to vote for a candidate that puts more emphasis in being a jerk than saying what they can do to help the country. So what do I do when I do not like any candidates? It is very simple, not vote. Why would i want to be involved in a government that I believe is corrupt and going in the wrong direction?
ReplyDeleteI think people should vote, but only if they are informed. Personally, I am currently more worried about failing chemistry than who will win the primary. I guess this could fall back to laziness, but I am not going to spend my free time looking up information about candidates when I could be spending time with my girlfriend, fraternity brothers, or improving my grades. I think there have been 20 debates for over 30 hours: that number is enough to scare me away.
ReplyDeleteThe statistic at the start of the blog makes sense. If I talk about football every day, I'm probably more likely to go to a football game compared with someone who talks about football once a month. Most college students don’t talk politics. I think that because were not informed, we don’t vote.