With the presidential election just a few months away, everyone who can legally vote is anxious to cast their opinion in this controversial election. If you’re a freshman like myself, this will be your first time taking part in a national poll, and it’s a good idea to do some research and prepare yourself.
Since stepping out of high school, we are mature enough to appreciate our new scope of the world. Luckily for us, MU has been crafted into a diverse campus where we have plenty of opportunity to gain real-world knowledge. The ever-changing political atmosphere at MU allows for us, as students and young adults, to practice our newly found freedom and responsibility.
It’s rather intimidating to walk into an election with such little political experience. After years of being considered too immature or ignorant of the real world around us, it’s finally time to use our voice.
Maybe you aren’t a political activist and are not convinced that voting in the election this year really matters. Maybe not being exposed to politics for most of your life makes it easier to just shrug it off and say, “I’ll vote next term.”
If you find yourself in one of these categories, get familiar, or even involved with, MU’s government to gain an understanding of how crucial politics are.
The Missouri Students Association is the student government for undergraduate students at MU. The sects of their government are modeled much after the United States’, with executive, legislative and judicial branches. MSA is responsible for sponsoring many student programs across campus, such as MUTV, STRIPES and Tiger Pantry, just to name a few.
So what’s the correlation between MSA involvement and participation in the national election? To make MU a place where diverse ideas and organizations prosper, students must get involved and share what is most important to them. The responsibility and lessons learned throughout student government translate to a greater appreciation for national government. Gaining first-hand experience of how politics are crafted at MU can give all of us young voters the confidence and maturity needed to express our national concerns.
The next time you find yourself complaining about a policy or critiquing pre-existing organizations, ask yourself what is being done to solve the issue. If the answer is nothing, then take it upon yourself to make a difference. It is the civic duty of MU students to make the most out of his or her own college experience.
Pursuing civic duty is the only way to earn the freedom to complain or critique the community around you. Do yourself a favor and educate yourself on what is going on this year at MU. Not only does it inform you of the diverse and ever-changing student government, but it also allows you to develop respect for politics. That is a skill that you can take with you long after graduation.
