During a class last week, one of my professors stood beside a screen that projected voter turnouts in the United States over the past several decades in the form of a color-coded bar graph. The graph sort of resembled a clear-cut forest where, miraculously, a few of the trees had been spared. The professor proceeded to explain the process by which our country votes. As many are no doubt aware, the state of Oregon uses the “vote by mail” method, which helps to bolster our voter turnout somewhat. Oregon is also one of several states that make use of “referendum,” in which citizens are asked to either accept or reject a proposed ordinance in a direct vote. Our professor then proceeded to another slide that showed a couple of basically trivial measures Oregonians had voted on in the past.
It was at this point that a student raised his or her hand and said something a lot like, “What do I care? Doesn’t the idea of a referendum in Oregon sort of take away from the point? I mean, I don’t have the time or desire to study these intricate and pretty much insignificant measures. Isn’t that why were have elected officials — to do that for us?”
I can see three possible reasons for why this individual was motivated to ask these questions:
1. The individual is a devotee of the ironic/sarcastic character our generation deems cool, and though he or she might actually care about these issues, the student felt the need to show that he or she didn’t, in fact, care to gain our acceptance.
2. The individual was a plant by our teacher in order to discuss the referendum in Oregon.
3. The individual actually believed what he or she said.
I feel like there is a lot of this lack of interest, or even just a feeling of boredom, circulating around politics at the University. But we should be the most interested.
During the 2008 presidential election, there was a surge in political activism among college-aged voters. Whether Democrats, Republicans or independents, students were swept up into this political frenzy on campuses across the nation. This election had the highest voter turnout in many years. Students seemed to snap out of the unjustifiable notion that their vote didn’t matter, and they played a major role in shaping the ultimate outcome of the election. They became an important constituency for both candidates who sought to win them over.
With extremely important elections just around the corner, I get the feeling that most of the fervor experienced in 2008 is gone. But it should be even greater than before.
A couple hours after the individual in my class expressed his or her feelings, I was sitting in another room when a member of the ASUO walked into the class. On his shirt was the message to “Vote or Vote,” and he proceeded to pass out voter registration forms for students to fill out and return. He summed up why it was so important for students to vote in the approaching elections.
“We have elections coming up for the governor and state legislatures. We have a $3 billion deficit, and tuition rates are on the rise. We have a chance and an obligation to have our voices heard in Salem. The way to do that is to vote. The way to vote is to register.”
Despite the clarity of the importance of voting, most of the registration forms remained blank. This could simply mean that the students in my class were already registered, and if that is the case, great. But I’m not so sure.
In a certain sense, the individual who spoke in protest of voting had a point; in the short run, most of the measures wouldn’t have a similar impact as the election of a governor would. But in the long run, I believe the lack of interest in politics and the lack of desire to exercise our democratic rights, are both extremely harmful and almost shameful.
To have an individual in my class questioning the merits of an almost unparalleled expression of democracy was jarring.
I think what it comes down to is that students — not just in Oregon, but around the nation — must begin to take a vested interest in politics. Not just when charismatic leaders speak to us, not just when we feel compelled into action by a controversial law or measure. But to be genuinely interested in the process, because it is the process of elections and voting that ultimately defines us as a nation. You don’t have to enjoy politics to get excited about it. What you do need to enjoy is feeling like you have a voice.
When the elections in the months to come arrive, I hope every student discovers theirs.
[email protected]