AMERICAN IDEALS

PARTICIPATING IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

COMMENTARY

By NATHAN KENNEDY

The Terrapin Times  Web Editor

As Americans, we often take for granted a lot of our individual liberties and rights. One such right is the right to vote, and not only in Presidential elections, which typically have the highest voter turnout of any election (garnering on average a whopping 30-40% of the general population that can vote). The American Ideal to vote is not just for President but for local officials, city councilmen, judges, county officials, and more. Many of us do not take the time to care about issues that affect us the most - the issues on the local and city level.

            Tomorrow, November 4^th, students will be mobilized to vote in the College Park city council elections. The students in College Park have been underrepresented in city politics, county politics, state politics, and university politics. Why has this happened? It is because we have taken for granted our American Ideal of civic participation on the local level. Many of us have become too caught up in national politics and worldwide issues - meanwhile our tuition is rising faster than Ted Kennedy’s blood alcohol content at a wedding. While some are working to “End the Occupation” and “Imperialism” or save the environment from the evil dictator George Bush, we lose sight of the fact that people in College Park are being mugged, raped, attacked, and some even killed. We forget that the city has not created its own police force or even looked into studying the cost for one with thousands of dollars that the SGA offered the city this past year to do.

            Then there are those who do not want to take 5 minutes of their busy day of Xbox, AIM chatting, and “Newlyweds” on MTV to register to vote in the city of College Park. Too often, we forget how lucky we are as Americans to have the right to vote in free elections. In order to have an effect on local politics and issues that are directly affecting us as students we must become active. At the very least, we must unite together to vote in local elections in order to make politicians care about students and the issues most important to us. And, for those who really care about the environment around us, we must become involved in the system by attending city council meetings, SGA meetings, public forums, board of regents meetings, and other such opportunities where changes can be made.

            Holding a rally to protest the President of the United States, or the Governor will not make a very big impact unless you have an outstanding majority. Attending city council meetings, SGA meetings, and board of regents meetings, and talking with the officials who directly represent you on every level, will make an impact. They will remember your name in most cases, and they will start to care about the fact that a certain constituency cares about what they do. This will force our leaders to be more accountable. Those who serve on the Board of Regents and City Council will have to explain why they are raising our tuition and why the crime continues to spiral out of control. We all have to come together for the greater good of our local community. Whether you are against George W. Bush, war, or abortion, and atheists, we should work for our home community before we look to improve the rest of the world.

            I encourage all students that can, to vote in the upcoming city elections and become civically involved. Without voting, things will not improve in our city and community and local politicians will not take students issues seriously. You can play the blame game all day for your problems and why you don’t like certain policies or the way things are, but if you are not civically involved then the only person to blame is yourself - because you are abusing your most important ideal as an American: the right and the responsibility to vote.