OUR VIEW: College voice needed in politics

College students have a reputation for being actively involved in politics at all levels, whether it be national, state or local. Or, at least they used to.

Student civic involvement hit its peak in the ’60s. Since then, statistics show voters age 18 to 24 steadily declining year by year. In 1998, only 18 percent of eligible voters in that age group turned out to vote.

And yet civic involvement is more than merely “getting out there to vote.” It’s even more than reading a two-paragraph summary of a candidate’s platform just before walking into the booth to punch out those chads. It’s about knowing what’s happening in the community well enough to form an opinion. All it takes is picking up a local newspaper once in awhile.

Perhaps students feel that campus, which provides just about everything from social needs to jobs and housing, serves as a community in and of itself. Maybe they feel what happens in Logan or Cache County doesn’t concern them.

They couldn’t be more wrong. How many times have we heard students complain about how hard it is to find a job in Logan? They could vote for a representative who feels it’s important to encourage new businesses to move into the area. Or, on a state level, how many students struggled to pay tuition after the increases? Vote for House representatives who are more sympathetic to higher education.

This week is Civic Awareness Week at USU. A variety of worthwhile events will take place, including a chance to meet local candidates Wednesday at noon on the Taggart Student Center Patio. Voter registration will be available on campus every day of the week.

Students should take the time to empower themselves by attending at least one of these activities.