EDITORIAL: Michigan needs you

Your vote as a student could decide the election

If students are concerned about Michigan’s future - who’s running it and how - then now is the time for them to get out there and actually do something about it.

Tomorrow, you can help make a difference in your community by casting your vote.

Older folks tell us that our generation doesn’t care about fighting for our rights. We’re told that our generation only cares about playing nice with each other and institutions in an effort to avoid the political conflicts we see play out on our phones and TV screens once every two years.

It’s time for you to challenge that stereotype and get yourself to a voting booth on Nov. 4.

The affluence of our state depends on you, and the power of change lies in the palms of your hands. In that spirit, we encourage every student who is registered to vote to continue what we’ve observed as a rejuvenated interest in the political process.

As a newspaper, our foremost purpose is to foster debate and conversation. Seeing the spirited debates taking place on our comment sections and social media feeds shows that our readership cares deeply.

This year, through forums, presentations and protests, we’ve observed more and more students apt to share where they stand on either side of the political spectrum. At Central Michigan University students wear their political identities around campus like a badge of honor.

Don’t let your political ideologies become meaningless. Cast a vote in favor of those beliefs.

Despite these displays of activism and outreach, some students remain critical of politics by virtue of their ages. Putting so much stock in one candidate or cause can disillusion once proud followers if said candidate or cause doesn’t pan out the way we think it should.

For some, the risk is just too great to get over. Yet voting can be simple for these students and drastically less conflicting if they stay educated on the issues and the candidates themselves. To actually learn more about candidates running for office, read more than their campaign materials or their TV attack ads.

You can defend yourself against biases by visiting websites like politifact.com or votesmart.org for detailed lists of candidate voting records so you never have to vote for a bad politician again.

Local residents who have sent letters to the editors of Central Michigan Life within the past few months share the same belief; they are convinced that if every student on CMU’s campus votes tomorrow, the election could be swayed with such a dramatic and surprising sweep, it could move just one candidate from barely tied to a surging lead.

Think about it: With enough votes, marijuana could be decriminalized in the city of Mount Pleasant for the first time ever. That means our college town could join the likes of Jackson and Grand Rapids, ensuring that you as students have more freedoms than you did the year prior, that is, if you chose to partake.

Your vote could be the difference between four more years of Gov. Rick Snyder or a brand new start with former Congressman Mark Schauer.

This election will decide much for how we as Michiganders view ourselves for decades to come. Many of our students know this fact, but for those that don’t, this editiorial serves as a rallying cry.

It’s hard to tell which is the right side of history in these debates, but if we don’t take a side, then we’re doing something worse.

Much worse, we’ll stand for nothing at all. Don’t let us be the generation who stood idly by as history flashed forward.

Find your polling location. Get out. Vote.

To help students, CM Life has compiled a list of each polling location in town for both Mount Pleasant and Union Township – many students living in apartments outside of downtown actually live in Union Township, despite what your mailing address says. They are accompanied by two maps. If you commute from other cities, you can find your polling location by visiting https://vote.michigan.gov/mvic/.

Mount Pleasant locations:

Precinct 1: Ganiard School, 101 S. Adams St.

Precinct 2: City Hall, 320 W. Broadway St.

Precinct 3: Pullen School, 251 S. Brown St.

Precinct 4: Mount Pleasant High School, 1155 S. Elizabeth St.

Precinct 5: Kinney School, 720 N. Kinney Ave.

Precinct 6: Vowels School, 1560 S. Watson Road

Precinct 7: Fancher School, 801 S. Kinney Ave.

Union Township locations:

Precinct 1: Union Township Hall, 2010 S. Lincoln Road

Precinct 2: Jameson Hall, 5142 Bud St.

Precinct 3: Commission on Aging, 2200 S. Lincoln Road