Civics Awareness Week helps students register to vote
More than 200 students a day have registered to vote during Civic Awareness Week at USU, said Jackson Olsen, ASUSU Executive vice president. There has been a great response from the student body this year towards the upcoming election, he said.
“This year is historical. We can see that with the record-breaking number of students registering to vote. They are energized to be participating in the political process,” said Tiffany Evans, Student Involvement and Leadership Center director.
Excitement about this year’s election probably comes in part from the candidates themselves; Barack Obama and Sarah Palin’s youth, gender and race, as well as the nation’s current issues could all be factors of the heightened student political involvement this year, she said. The fact that this is a presidential election also has students taking the opportunity to vote more seriously, whereas in a non-presidential election it is more difficult to get students to vote, she said.
The Government Relations Committee has done a very good job this year to educate students on the issues, how to get involved politically and the importance of doing getting involved, Evans said.
Civic awareness is important because it gives the average Joe the opportunity to have his voice heard by not only the leaders of the government but leaders of the community, Olsen said. People grow apathetic because they feel they can’t make a difference, but in the last week, the Government Relations Committee has registered 1,500 people to vote in the TSC basement, Olsen said. When something like that happens, the numbers prove that voters can have an impact on their community and government, he said.
“We registered more people to vote in the first week than the total voter registration last year, that is tangible evidence of the political excitement on campus,” Olsen said.
The overall dialogue about government and the election is being heard around campus as a matter of engagement, not a matter of political affiliation, and more students want to be involved, Evans said.
Olsen said, he would like to see more students at the debates because more students can always be engaged. He said he was very impressed with the response of students at USU, though.
Evans said, “This will be the presidential election that this generation will always remember as the most significant in their lifetime.”
–monica.swapp@aggiemail.usu.edu