Voter participation does not end after elections

Despite the superhero costumes and gauntlets of handbill-wielders surrounding the Union two… Despite the superhero costumes and gauntlets of handbill-wielders surrounding the Union two weeks ago, I didn’t vote for the homecoming king or queen. (Gasp!) I thought about it. Out of curiosity, I even went all the way to my.pitt.edu to browse the candidates. But although I just couldn’t bring myself to overlook the sheer pointlessness of the whole tradition, I was surprisingly impressed with the passion of the candidates’ supporters.

Signs plastered all over campus. Supportive T-shirts in every class. A last-minute free-candy rush. The aforementioned handbills and costumes. Even part of the marching band showed up to gather up some votes. Pitt students clearly aren’t lacking drive or motivation when it comes to campaign strategies. Yet, if our campus can get so collectively worked up about essentially a beauty contest, why can’t we do more for issues that actually affect us?

I’m not talking about other elections, although I did vote yesterday and I encourage you to do so in the future – next Tuesday’s Student Government Board elections are your next chance. It’s pretty easy. Register, push a few buttons or, in the case of the SGB race, simply click a mouse at my.pitt.edu and bask in that sense of self-satisfaction washing over your body. Finished!

The problem is that voting isn’t enough, and we know it. It’s not hard to see why Americans – young Americans especially – have notoriously low voter turnout rates when it comes to political elections. Before our very eyes, we see votes get manipulated and forgotten. Ballot-qualifying signatures are forged, campaign money is accepted indistinguishably and desperately, and political mud is slung incessantly between candidates. In almost every election, we’re faced with picking the lesser of two evils who doesn’t represent our interests to begin with and ceases to be held accountable the second he enters office. Disenchantment with the American government is nothing new, but these are new lows.

Unfortunately, in each race, one of those evils gets put into office and makes decisions that directly impact you, your family and your community. Like how funding is distributed to nonprofit organizations. Or what curriculum public schools are permitted to follow. Or what kind of health care system will be waiting for you once you graduate from college and have to figure out insurance on your own – if you’re lucky enough to have it now. Or how many people will get killed in Iraq next month.

Students on campus worked hard for months to register and encourage Pitt students to vote in yesterday’s elections, and I commend their efforts. However, although voting can make or break a candidate’s ability to pursue immensely varying agendas, it happens too infrequently. It’s too easy. It’s not empowering and doesn’t make a direct enough impact. Most importantly, for now, it’s over. What are you going to do today?

I’m encouraging us to actually participate in our community – at the University, in Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania – and do something about the issues that affect us. Volunteer. Protest. Hold those elected accountable. Write a letter to the editor or run for public offices yourself. If you hated the Senate race because neither candidate supported reproductive rights, get ready to defend those rights! If you’re mad because none of the candidates included your favorite social justice concern in their platforms, push the issues yourself! Especially if you decided not to vote as a political statement to show your apathy or rejection of the government, do something to distinguish yourself from those who just didn’t care – because otherwise, your very legitimate feelings will simply evaporate and disappear.

Yesterday’s elections had their unfortunate similarities with the homecoming elections two weeks ago. At times, the candidates seemed indistinguishable, desperate for your vote and personally had a lot to gain from a win. But as much as most campaigns would like us to believe, this isn’t a personality contest. This is our life. Let’s just hope our campus can take its fervor a little further towards issues that matter a little more than a crown.

Get involved. Start by e-mailing Lisa at lib2@pitt.edu.