An offer you cannot refuse voting

Author: May Boeve

It's lawn sign season again. Anyone of us who drove to campus last week probably noticed any number of them adorning the lawns of our college community. Tarrant, Bernie, Welch and Rainville are among the names you might have seen.

But heck, it's a midterm election. Nobody really pays much attention to those, right? I mean, few of us even vote when there's no presidency at stake.

I hope the intended irony of those last two sentences came across. Better yet, I hope you're reading this and have already requested your absentee ballot, and are considering whom you'll vote for come November 7.

But if you're not, here's a quick plea from a fellow student to encourage you to do just that. One major reason is the obvious one - voting among young people has been shown to decrease flatulence by 65%. Others might cite another statistic, namely, that since gaining the right to vote in 1972, young people in the U.S. have been turning out to vote in declining numbers (following voting statistics provided by state PIRGs). The low point came during the 2000 election, one of the closest in United States history, when less than half of the eligible 18- to 24-year-old population cast their ballots (36.1%). Whether you're motivated by farts, or by a desire to pick up our generation off apathy's floor, is up to you.

Frankly, I don't find the low-turnout statistics inspiring. Maybe you don't either, in which case, you'll be pleased to know that 47% of 18-24 year old voters turned out in the last U.S. election, a remarkable increase of 11 percentage points over 2000. And we can do a lot better.

When we do, when we young people cast that ballot and express what policies and politicians we want, we have more influence. Fact. Just look at what isn't happening now, namely, that politicians don't make a special effort to reach out to young voters, or talk about issues that matter to us. We haven't given them much reason to, if what they're most concerned with is getting elected. It doesn't mean they think we don't matter because we're uninformed punks who listen to loud music and bite our nails. Okay, maybe they still think that, and it's often true, but so what? Our opinions count.

Here at Middlebury, with practically all U.S. states represented (apologies for the U.S. focus, international students) by at least one student, we've got an incredible learning opportunity on our hands. Election news is hard to follow in even just one state, let alone all 50, and at our small college and among our friends, we've got a great shot at being more informed. Let's take advantage of it.

Additionally, it's easier than ever to vote at Middlebury. If you've never voted before and want to vote at home or in Vermont, or if you need to request an absentee ballot, or if you want to learn more about the upcoming elections, your fellow students are here to help. A group of us, calling ourselves MiddVote, have set the goal of 100% student voter participation among eligible students. We're setting up tables at campus events, and in dining halls (maybe you've seen us already), collecting students' info, and we're emailing everyone their registration forms and absentee request forms. We're also providing stamps and envelopes. The only thing we're not doing is providing walking companions to the post office. Look for us on campus, and get involved if you'd like.

Or you can visit www.rockthevote.org, and the user-friendly site can help get you registered or request your absentee ballot.

If you take a second and set down your Campus, and then think of all the days this past year that you've read the national news. Maybe some of those days you've put down the newspaper with a less than cheerful attitude about the state of the world and this country. Maybe other days you read something that gave you great faith in what leaders of this county are capable of. Either way, I encourage you to take five minutes and commit yourself to making sure you vote on November 7, whether that means registering or making a ballot request. Thanks!