Not long ago, I was sitting with three of my roommates, as roommates do, watching football. At one point there was a stoppage of play and the game went to commercial. During the break one of my roommates said something to the effect of, “Who is that woman? I see her on TV all the time.” The other two then chimed in with similar statements. The woman on the screen was Mary Burke, who, for those of you like my roommates, is Wisconsin’s Democratic candidate for governor. Through a series of borderline Sherlockian deductions it became clear to me that none of them knew who was running against the incumbent Scott Walker.
This experience triggered a memory of a time just a few days earlier when a different student explained that she would not be voting because she didn’t know the difference between Democrats and Republicans and evidently did not have the time to figure it out.
To quote the great Vince Lombardi, “What the hell is going on out here?” This is ridiculous, people. I realize my three roommates and one girl I talked to in Union South don’t necessarily provide an adequate sample of the student body, but the fact that people with such apathetic political sentiments even exist merit the writing of this article.
We have a tradition to uphold. In terms of being politically conscious, we used to be at the pinnacle of campuses in the United States. We were the Berkeley of the Midwest, for God’s sake. Even in the last major election cycle, 2012, youth voter turnout in Wisconsin was among the top in the nation. This means something and it is worth maintaining. In the upcoming election we need to vote and we need to vote in droves. Let us be a bastion for civic engagement, the City on a Hill of student voter turnout.
At this point, I know what you’re saying: “Max, you’re just another one of those political science students who has a weird affinity for the goings on of the American governmental system,” or “Max, you have not one, but two posters of Abraham Lincoln in your bedroom. Obviously you’re way more into this whole politics thing than the average student.” To those accusations, I say you’re right. I’m guilty on both counts. But isn’t that the problem? Shouldn’t more students and other young people be interested in politics? Would that be so bad? It is one of the only areas of interest that can have such a strong, direct impact on our lives and the lives of those around us.
Look, I’m not saying you all need to take things as far as I have. There’s no need to go out and buy clothes bearing the face of your favorite political figure or to get subscriptions to The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. Although, in case you haven’t noticed, the student newspapers on this campus are free and offer a great place to start. Beyond this, information is so easy to attain in our modern age. There is no excuse to not know who Mary Burke is, or to refuse to vote because you don’t know the primary beliefs of the political parties associated with the candidates. All of that information can be found in seconds on the Internet.
In sum, this stuff matters. So, go out and get educated. The election is a little under a month away, but that means you have a ton of time to learn and make a decision. Then, vote. VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE (As an aside: I said that four times for emphasis, not to encourage anyone to attempt to vote four different times on Election Day. Don’t take this as advocacy for voter fraud, Gov. Walker). Ultimately, we have a fantastic tradition to uphold on this campus-— let’s do our best to maintain it.
Max is a new writer for The Daily Cardinal and a junior majoring in political science. Do you agree or disagree with his stance on the need to vote? What’s your opinion? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
