At the end of a close presidential race, student activism is more important now than ever before. Regardless of political partisanship, it is necessary for young people especially to remain committed to the issues they care about most.
The New Voters Project campaign was responsible for registering and mobilizing thousands of 18- to 24-year-olds in Madison before and on Election Day. Nationwide, nearly 21 million young Americans, some of whom waited in line for hours for their voices to be heard, voted on Nov. 2nd.
This indicates a huge increase in voter turnout among young people since the last presidential election in 2000. Although the percentage of young voters remained steady at 10 percent due to an overall surge in the electorate, the absolute number increased by almost 3 million-close to the margin between the presidential candidates in the election itself.
According to the Associated Press, the proportion of eligible voters between 18 and 29 rose from 42.3 percent to 51.6 percent. In battleground states, young voters turned out in even greater numbers; here in Wisconsin, 64.4 percent of people 18 to 29 were eligible to vote. Furthermore, this is the first time there has not been a significant decline in the number of 18- to 21-year-olds voting since the 26th Amendment changed the legal voting age to 18 prior to the 1972 election.
As the number of young people voting rises, politicians will begin to see us as a viable and important demographic, and pay closer attention to the issues that are important to us. However, our political impact doesn't stop with voting. We need to participate in the political process every step of the way, and there is no shortage of means through which to do this.
Students on campus have many opportunities to become involved in issues that they care about. There is a multitude of student organizations on the UW campus and countless volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in environmental and consumer protection issues, or even poverty issues, a group like Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group may be the place for you.
Just last week, WisPIRG's Hunger and Homelessness campaign raised $2,345 in one day through a food swipe in campus cafeterias, and ultimately raised over $5,400 by the end of the week. The money was raised for the Salvation Army's Overflow Shelter. In addition, the campus Republicans, Democrats and Greens are bound to remain active in preparation for the next local, state and national elections. Students interested in politics should look into these groups.
These are just a couple examples of the hundreds of groups in which students can get involved, and whether your interests are political, environmental, religious, cultural or in another area, there are surely groups on campus with similar views and goals.
In a setting such as a national university, where students have many different goals and students' interests and backgrounds are widely varied, there should be a more diverse range of views represented in organizations just as in classrooms. It is in the best interest of young people as a group to evaluate our individual perspectives. The New Voters Project and other election-related groups showed this fall that students can have an enormous impact on issues locally, statewide and even nationally.
Students who are involved should remain active, and those who are not should realize their voices can make a difference.
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
