On Nov. 9, 2016, there was a dark pall over our campus. Many students felt defeated, shocked and betrayed. We were ripped from our comfortable bubble into an ugly new reality that we knew would shape the nation’s identity for years to come.
As predicted, Trump has spent every day since attacking the bedrock of our democracy and working to set our country back by years. He trusts foreign adversaries and brutal dictators over the United States’ own intelligence community, undermines climate change action and seeks to relieve his own tax burden at our expense. His election has also paved the way for the possibility of a known pedophile to be elected to the U.S. Senate, both due to Trump’s work to destroy the media’s credibility and because Donald Trump is, himself, a known sexual predator.
After the recent elections on Nov. 7, 2017, things are looking up; Virginia and New Jersey demonstrated that Trumpism isn’t welcome there. Record numbers of women, minorities and youth were elected all around the country, and Democrats now control the entire West Coast at the state level.
Here in Wooster, Democrats won seats in two out of three city council races, and Democrat Dan Stavnezer, the husband of Professor Stavnezer, won a seat on Wooster’s Board of Education.
Even with these victories, we can do better in 2018. This year, I worked as an election official for a precinct that includes campus north of Wayne Avenue. Over the course of my 15-hour shift, I could see that youth turnout is lagging. I only counted five Wooster students. That being said, there was a line of adults with full-time jobs waiting outside to vote at 6:30 a.m. There were 95-year-olds with walkers and wheelchairs. There was a blind man, who needed to use a special voting machine. If these citizens can vote, I know young, intelligent and spry college students can too.
Young people at this college know how to organize and advocate. Currently, students are taking collective action to lobby for the reinstatement of Mom’s worker Dameca Neal, garnering over 1,650 signatures on a Change.org petition. After the 2016 election, a significant contingent of students lined Beall in silent protest, a powerful gesture that took more time, effort and bravery than casting a ballot.
As young adults, we owe it to ourselves and our future children to vote in next year’s midterms. We must vote for the future we want to spend the rest of our lives in. Voting is an integral part of what it means to resist, be an engaged citizen and care for others. If you don’t vote, what’s the point of sharing your political opinion on social media? Why participate in the Women’s March? Why argue with a Trump supporter if they vote and you don’t? Why would the government reflect your values if you don’t hold your representatives accountable at the voting booth?
In 2018, the stakes will be much higher than 2017. We will elect new federal and state Representatives and Senators, a Governor, Ohio Supreme Court Justices and many other crucial offices. Our primary is on May 8, with the general election taking place on Nov 6. With high youth turnout, we can replace Trump and his enablers with a progressive future, simply by casting a ballot.
Nick Shiach, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at NShiach20@wooster.edu.