Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner’s visit to the University of Louisville on Oct. 31, brought light to some important issues facing college students. Issues of college loan debt and unemployment affect many of us and the upcoming elections are our way to let our voices be heard.
With the country in its current state, it can be quite discouraging to even go out and vote. It would be easy to assume that our votes don’t matter, or that the politicians will follow their own agenda and disregard the voters’ concerns. But this is a democracy and our leaders only get to where they are through citizen support.
Although one election may not turn the tide or change the way our representatives operate, over time, if we students show high turnout rates at the polls, the politicians will have to consider our concerns in their policy making. Our vote is our way of contributing to the political system, and although it’s hard to be optimistic at this time, it is important that we exercise our right, our duty, to ensure the best leaders are representing us.
If our leaders aren’t doing their jobs properly, then it is our duty to dethrone them. It may take several election cycles to make a change, but if we continually throw out politicians for a lack of leadership then eventually someone will step up and realize that they are there to represent the people and the voters and not elected for their own interests and agenda.
This will take time, but if we are persistent and show our representatives that the college students of America are a growing population in which they must pay attention, they will have no choice but to either listen or step down. The only way in which this can happen is if we perform our duty and vote.
When you do vote however, do not check the box to vote straight for one party or the other. This mindless mentality of believing that one side is better than the other or choosing teams is one reason our country is in its current predicament. We are so infatuated with choosing sides and evening the playing field that we lose sight of the real issues. We should be voting for individual people, not parties. We’ve gotten so caught up with parties that right and left have become a bigger rivalry than U of L and U of K.
As students, we have our duty to elect the best representative that will listen to our concerns. But the politicians have their job to do as well. Education is a huge issue that not only concerns students but the future of our nation.
It seems that our government would rather create tax burdens than tax payers. Hopefully they’ll soon realize that college students will come out on the other side with higher paying jobs and in turn will generate greater tax revenue for our government. It would only make sense for the government to offer a little help now and receive a bigger return in the future.
Our education is not only an investment for ourselves as individuals, but also an investment for the United States of America. We must let our politicians know how significant we are to the nation, and the most effective way in which to do this is to show up in large numbers at the polls on Election Day.
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