We live in a politically polarized society. We tend to only hear negative things about politics — from all sides. However, it’s time to utilize your political power to cast your vote in the 2018 midterm elections.
It is our civic duty as citizens of the United States to elect those who represent us. This is a right — a privilege — that not everyone has. It may even be the first time you’re able to vote, so do not let this opportunity go to waste.
As we millennials and Gen Z students have grown up, we’ve been portrayed as lazy and distracted. What the naysayers often forget to mention is the grit we have to shatter expectations and norms, the pushback we give when we disagree with the status quo and the determination we have to stand up for what is right. We cannot let others define us by the negative qualities they think we possess.
Let us recreate the definition of our generation with the changes we make toward the society we want to live in. We will continue to make our voices heard, and there is no better way to do that than to vote on Election Day, which is Nov. 6.
When IgniteTU won the 2018 Temple Student Government election, our school had its third-highest voter turnout since TSG began tracking voting numbers in 2004. Let’s show that same enthusiasm next week.
Hopefully, you have registered to vote. If you are registered in another state or even just another town within Pennsylvania and need to cast an absentee ballot, you still have some time. The deadline for Pennsylvania residents to apply for an absentee ballot is Tuesday. And the deadline to submit your completed absentee ballot is Friday.
If you’re an out-of-state student, head to vote.org to find out when your state’s deadlines are, and be sure to fill out an absentee ballot if there’s a chance you might miss your opportunity to vote on Nov. 6.
Another thing you need to do before Election Day is find out where your polling place is. To make getting there a little easier, Uber announced it will be offering free and discounted rides to get citizens to their polling places. Take advantage of that.
Voting takes less than five minutes. Do your research, and show preceding generations that we don’t just talk — we act, too.
Gadi Zimmerman is a senior financial planning major and the student body president. He is also the vice president of Challah for Hunger, an organization that sells challah to raise money for Cherry Pantry. He can be reached at tsg.president@temple.edu and @Gadi_Zimmerman on Twitter.
Be the first to comment