Student voting is essential

The system of government in America is historically unique. In America, citizens themselves decide who will make law and sometimes, in the case of initiatives, decide what the law will be. \nAll political power rests in the hands of the people. Voting is more than the privilege of a citizen; it is the solemn duty of each individual to give the ballot his political voice.\nUniversal suffrage was a long time coming. The Revolutionary War was fought to give landed men a vote in their government. Susan B. Anthony and the suffrage movement in the early part of the last century gave women the vote after 140 years of disenfranchisement. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life for the civil rights movement, securing the vote for African-Americans. With so much struggle and sacrifice throughout the ages, one might imagine that all able-bodied citizens would move hell and earth to get to the polls on Election Day.\nBut fewer than half of Americans vote. One of four are not even registered. Fewer than half of people 18-24 are registered to vote and only one in three votes. Monroe County had Indiana's seventh worst voter turnout in the last midterm primary. Those numbers, however, reflect thousands of former students who remain on the voter rolls after they moved.\nYoung people make up almost 10 percent of the voting age population. When the turnout among college students is just 30 percent, it should come as no surprise if their interests and attitudes are marginalized by politicians. There is an untapped reservoir of political power among college students.\nIt is time to assert that power: All IU students should register and vote during the 2002 cycle. It takes just one minute to register and less than 10 minutes to vote. The time is propitious for change in Bloomington. There are opportunities for downtown development, new housing, parking and roads. All of these matter to IU students.\nThe state government, besides dealing with the budget crunch, is examining new speed limits, the I-69 corridor, biotech research, logging in state forests and tax restructuring. These questions concern every Indiana resident.\nThe federal government, for its part, is running a deficit yet again. If trends continue, our generation will, in 25 years, need to find a way to pay back more than $5.5 trillion in debt while saving Social Security, Medicare and providing for the common defense. College students cannot remain silent as events develop that fundamentally affect the course of our lives.\nIndiana's primary election is May 7, and there is a general election in November. The registration deadline for the primary is April 8. One can register at any number of places on campus and in Bloomington. We hope that everyone sets aside the time it takes to register and vote. Rarely do you get so much for so little.\nFor information on registering to vote or changing your voter registration name or address, call the Voter Registration Office at 349-2690.