To Rock, or Not to Rock The Vote? That Is The Question...

It's almost that time of year, where people are scrambling to their local elementary school to get in line and vote! Advertisements plague local television, picket signs are placed in your neighbors front yards, and t-shirts are being handed out to encourage you to go out and vote. Only...wait a second, the President has only been in office for two years, right? Who the heck are we voting for then?

It could be considered sad that most students don't even know that there is another four year cycle of voting that takes place for local and state government and legislation. Freshman student Doug Kendricks, a Wildlife Biology major from Cherry Hill was asked if he was going to vote in the upcoming midterm elections, and he responded "When is midterm elections?" After telling him when the upcoming elections were held, he then responded "Well, as long as there is a black guy running, I'll vote for him, haha." Though he may have said that in a joking manner, it was clear he had no knowledge of the candidates who are in the running and possibly no idea what they will be running for.

Another student who was interviewed simply replied with "No, I don't really care about these elections." Ashley Tilghman, a law major from Upper Marlboro, continued by saying "The Presidential elections are what's important to me." When told that these elections directly effect the state that she currently lives in, she had nothing to say.

To get another prospective, an English Department Professor was asked the same question as the students. Andy Duncan responded to the question, saying "Yes, I've always voted. Since I've turned 18, I haven't missed a vote. And if I do, I fill out an absentee ballot."

Through just these three simple interviews, it's clear that there is a lack of exposure of the importance of the midterm elections to students. Therefore, the lack of exposure leads to a lack of interest, resulting in a lack of voting participants. You can't be sure who to blame here. Do you blame schools for not better promoting mid term elections? Do you blame the election nominees for not reaching out to students more? Or do you just blame students for not showing the interest needed from the future adults of America?