Students on Campus | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, Wright State University students were surveyed in the Union Market regarding their opinions on why it is important to be registered to vote and to go to the polls for this upcoming election.
Registration
Out of the students surveyed, the only ones who were not registered to vote were international students and those who had not yet turned 18, meaning that they were too young to vote still. Even some students who were unwilling to stay for a longer interview shared that they were registered.
Conner Nicewander, a freshman motion pictures major, is excited to be registered to vote for his first election, which he feels is such a pivotal one.
“I feel like there's a lot going on with this election that will affect a lot of things in the future,” Nicewander said.
Many students shared this feeling, with everyone stressing how important it is that young citizens get their voices out there by exercising their right to vote.
Teylor Meyer is a sophomore nursing major who is looking forward to voting in this election.
“It's my first time voting, so I think it's kind of exciting. And like, finally, my voice will be heard in these presidential elections. So it's exciting overall,” Meyer said.
Issues
When asked about the issues that were drawing them to the polls, many students gave similar answers, often boiling down to one topic: rights.
“We have abortion, we have other voting rights. We have just a lot of issues that need to be talked about. And right now, this one election is going to affect almost everything,” Nicewander said.
Abortion was also a big issue in Meyer’s mind, and she briefly touched on the importance of this issue through her eyes as a future nurse. She shared that this is one of the many things that are encouraging her to show up to vote this year.
Fern Badenhop is a freshman computer science major who is still a little too young to vote, but still impressively articulated her feelings on the election, especially on the issues that were important to her.
“When we talk about, like vulnerable populations, I think, you know, queer people in America have for a long time been vulnerable to a lot of like violence in their communities, have been vulnerable to a lot of discrimination in like in the workplace and generally,” Badenhop said.
She shared that LGBTQ+ rights are very close to her, and she went on to describe many other issues that are of concern and other populations that are vulnerable right now.
“Another issue when we look at [America] as a whole, not just in its culture, its justice system, which there's a lot of evidence, a lot of cases where the justice system has been discriminatory against people of color, especially against the Black community,” Badenhop said.
She said that while these are the topics on her mind and many of her peers, she acknowledges that this is not the case for everyone. Even within her generation, Badenhop knows that some people have different motivations.
“I don't think everyone goes to the polls necessarily for the progressive action,” Badenhop said. “I think it's preserving that drives a lot of people in our generation to go forward because we have seen regression recently.”
Importance
Dylan O’Brien, a freshman who is not yet old enough to vote, still stresses the importance that those who can vote do vote.
“Every vote does matter. It sounds really cliche to say, but it is especially the younger generation, who can really take charge and really change things in the future, which we very desperately are in need of change right now because we're the ones that see what's wrong,” said O’Brien.
O’Brien went on to explain that with certain human rights on the polls, they think that it is essential that voters of all ages get registered to vote and use their vote to make positive changes.
“It's important to just be educated on what you're voting on,” stated Meyer. “Being educated on the entire process is very important.”
All students agree that if you can, it is essential that you vote.
