Sam GuzikAs incoming freshmen, you have been and will be faced with a number of important, tough decisions over the course of the summer and fall. Which meal plan should you sign up for? Do you want to live in a single or double? Old dorm or new dorm? Which student groups do you want to join? Do you want to play Intramural sports for your floor? Are you going to stay pre-med? Oh.and who do you want to be the next President of the United States?
When you arrive on campus, there will be so much for you to do. There will be people to meet, papers to write and activities to attend. While immersed in this transition, it may be difficult to keep in mind what is happening outside of the walls of our university home. However, it is of the utmost importance that you tune out your floor gossip and tune in to the national news at least once and a while.
On November 4 every American faces an important decision, perhaps the most important: Who should you vote for to lead this great nation into the future?
Staying informed, however, is only half the battle. The other half is registering to vote before the deadline (October 8 in Missouri), and getting to the polls on Election Day (November 4). Doing both requires effort on your part, as with anything worthwhile.
The University stands prepared to make the voting process as simple and painless as possible. During orientation and throughout the first month of school, there will be a bevy of opportunities for you to register to vote. There will be registration tables near the clocktower (you’ll quickly figure out where that is if you don’t know already) during move-in day, scattered around campus on September 18 (the University’s official voter registration day), and at most of the politically-inclined events held on campus throughout early October. And this year, the polling location for residents of the South 40 (where most of you will live) will be on the South 40 itself, down the hall from Bear’s Den, where you will eat the majority of your meals. On Election Day, grab lunch with your friends and then vote for dessert.
By listing these opportunities I hope to impress upon you how easy it will be to register, and how difficult avoiding it will be. Nevertheless, the whole process hinges on you. As citizens and/or visitors to this nation, you have both rights and responsibilities. With freedom comes responsibility, and one of your responsibilities is to make your voice heard.
Make it heard through activism, protest and debate. But most of all, use your voice at the polls on November 4. Whether your candidate wins or loses, you’ll know that you contributed to our great democracy.
So don’t dodge the process. When you have the opportunity to register, do it. When you have an opinion about an issue, voice it. And on November 4th, drop those issues that will dominate our school and social lives in the fall and take your stand on a choice that will shape our lives for the next four years and beyond. VOTE.
Jordan Aibel is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].