Lauren RabainoActivism, civic engagement, grassroots efforts, democracy. What do these words mean to you? With Nov. 4 just around the corner, there is no better time than today to open that voter guide and research the issues. I assure you that there is no greater feeling than that of being politically informed!
Regardless of your extreme political interests (or lack thereof), voting is a vital part of the democratic process. For most of us, voting is our one shot at changing policy or shaping the political progress of the United States. None of this, however, would be possible without registering to vote. Registering is simple, takes less than five minutes, and is the only way you can vote on Nov. 4.
Voting is not an act of civic duty; rather, it should be looked at as an act of civil service.
In order to promote voter registration, ASI Student Government has produced a series of events appropriately titled Democracy Week. ASI has partnered with Student Life and Leadership and University Housing to create a grassroots effort to register student voters. Look out for students wearing “Vote” T-shirts patrolling the University Union all next week.
Also, don’t forget to stop in on the San Luis Obispo City Council and mayoral debate on Oct. 14 at 11 a.m. in University Union room 220. Come hear candidates Jan Marx, Marcia Nelson, Paul Brown, John Ashbaugh, Arnold Ruiz and Dan Carpenter duke it out for two of four seats on the City Council. Students are encouraged to submit questions at the forum through the moderator and each candidate has been instructed to do so as well.
In addition, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen will be speaking at noon on Wednesday in UU 220 on her role within the state as well as the importance of registering and voting in a democratic system.
This week kicks off the final opportunity to educate ourselves and our peers on this monumental election. There are countless ways to become politically informed.
Still on the fence when it comes to who or what to vote for? Visit www.easyvoter.org, or each of the candidate’s Web sites or at the very least, catch up on the political satires put on by JibJab and Saturday Night Live. For more information on where to vote visit maps.google.com/vote.
Take the time to read up on the 12 Propositions on the ballot becaue we are voting for a whole lot more than just a president. The countdown starts now. Are you ready?
Angela Kramer is Cal Poly’s Associated Students Inc. president and a political science senior.