Students get involved, register to vote at campus political fair
Registering to vote for the first time, Port Huron junior Colton Cichoracki double checked his address on his phone as he filled out the form at the Political Fair on Tuesday.
"I’ve never voted before,” he said. "I saw the fair posted on Twitter and thought I would check it out. I was interested in talking to the RSOs and registering to vote for the first time.”
Political and social registered student organizations amassed in the University Center Rotunda Tuesday evening to inform students of the politics affecting their lives and what they could do to be part of the process simply by registering to vote.
Thirteen political student organizations set up tables in the Rotunda to introduce themselves to students and help them understand some of the issues that will be discussed leading up to the November election.
“We’re getting students fired up for the upcoming election,” said Anna Prielipp, vice chair of the College Republicans at Central Michigan University. “We really want to get people interested and aware of what is going on in politics. They should care.”
Sharing the same sentiment on the other side of the room, Executive Vice President of College Democrats of CMU Hayley Alderman agreed students should care about what is happening around them.
“A lot of students overlook politics and think it doesn’t affect them, but it does,” she said. “They should be just as fired up about a government official raising their tuition as they are about something entertaining they see on the internet.”
College Democrats President Sam McNerney said the group is encouraging students to be proactive and vote, as bad politicians are elected when good people don’t vote.
Tables for other political organizations such as the University Libertarians and the Student Government Association also lined the walls of the Rotunda.
Among them were also advocate groups such as Students Advocating Gender Equality and the new organization Amnesty International at CMU, which informed students about what the groups stand for and why they should care.
“We are here to encourage students to register to vote and vote with women’s issues in mind,” said Hannah Mollett, an Ortonville senior and SAGE representative. “Women are grossly underrepresented in the political process and we want students to be aware of that. Women make up 50 percent of the population but only make up 20 percent of the Senate and 17 percent of the House.”
Students attending the event talked to representatives from the organizations, checked out the fliers and poster boards on display and were given the opportunity to register to vote.
