By Ross McMullin
Guest Columnist
Publication Date: 10/28/08
It's Your Choice This Election:
I am a normal college student like you. I do not consider myself automatically superior in judgment, and I will not harass you to vote for who I think the best candidates are, especially when you are on the way to class. I am not a paid campaign staffer who will sit on campus all day and pressure you to vote for 'my' candidate, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I won't offer you any annoying, cheesy and hollow campaign slogans. What I will offer is a challenge'
Voter registration numbers are at an all-time high. Good news, right? Maybe, or maybe not' College voters will have a tremendous sway this year, especially on local races. In order for our energized student populace to make a positive impact this fall, we must take an informed and vested interest in all levels of our government. An active role is not just registering to vote; it is not just joining Facebook groups; and it is definitely not just wearing a button or sticker. An informed voter does not vote for a campaign slogan or what they hope a candidate will become. Taking a meaningful voice in your government can involve some of that, but it requires much, much more. Informed voters cast their ballots on policy and principle. They become thoroughly educated on both who and what they are voting for. It is critical to the health of our representative democracy that you do this. Listening to my political science professors drone on about the detrimental effects of an uninformed electorate might be boring, but the terrible effects that could result from this problem are real possibilities.
Don't be swayed by how a candidate looks or what party they are from; look at their platform and decide for yourself. Weigh their personal character and life accomplishments, or lack thereof. Be an independent thinker and rise above the mud-slinging so prevalent in the political process. Require that your candidates give you substantive reasons to vote for them. Make sure they have more credentials than the innate ability to read from a teleprompter. If you are unwilling or unable to do this, then I ask you, and even plead with you, please, don't vote. For the sake of our community, our state, and our nation, don't vote. In this age of limitless access to information, an uninformed vote is a lazy vote, and a detrimental one.
Ross McMullin is a former West Lafayette City Councilor and Chairman of the Purdue University College Republicans. He is a secondary education and political science major at Purdue.