LANDON PHILLIPS/Cartoonist
STAFF EDITORIAL
The California primaries have come and gone, with Hillary Clinton and John McCain taking the top prize in arguably the first meaningful primary the Golden State has seen since the days of Bobby Kennedy in 1968.
But with little time to focus on all Super Tuesday states before the prized primary, there was understandably little time to hype “primary fever” before California voters went to the polls last week.
Of course, there were exceptions. SoCal conservatives — including a few members of Pepperdine’s College Republicans — descended on the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley to watch the GOP candidates debate in front of a decommissioned Air Force One. Democrats turned the Hollywood and Highland complex outside the Kodak Theatre into a gigantic political rally before the Democratic candidates debated inside.
Even a local university got into the action, as UCLA students and other Obama supporters packed Pauley Pavilion for a “Rally for Change” featuring California first lady Maria Shriver alongside Caroline and Ted Kennedy.
But at Pepperdine on Super Tuesday, one would never have known that more than 3 million Californians were going to the polls that day. Walking around campus, the only indicator that there was even an election happening were the occasional stickers on someone’s shirt proclaiming in patriotic colors that, “I voted.”
Not all of us tuned out, though. The Freedom Wall featured profiles of the candidates, telling students to get out the vote. And SGA registered more than 100 students to vote in the week leading up to the primary.
But we heard far too many stories (and in some cases, excuses) from Pepperdine students about why they did not vote on Super Tuesday. This is troubling.
Of course, some had more legitimate concerns, such as not receiving absentee ballots on time or not physically being able to get to a local polling place for whatever reason.
We know the stereotypes of young adults in this country — that we are politically apathetic and that our voter turnout is always abysmal. The more we stay home, the more we confirm those assumptions. Pundits think we are more interested in YouTube and the Guitar Hero than we are in who is running our country, but they are wrong.
As informed students, we should not need rock bands, P. Diddy’s “VOTE OR DIE” mantra or an “inspiring” politician to get us to the polls this fall. As much as our peers may say our government is hopeless or that our vote does not count, all one needs to do is understand the stakes and look to the many primary states where decisions were separated by only hundreds of votes to understand these assumptions are far from true.
The good news, though, is that Super Tuesday was only a test drive for Californians and other voters. If you missed your chance to vote in the primary contests, there is still ample time for you to register to vote and become informed on the issues.
We now have sufficient time to register, regardless of our residency. While many students might have missed being able to vote in the primaries because they did not meet the adequate deadlines to receive their absentee ballots, that time is now afforded for the general election in November, and that excuse can no longer be valid.
What has become very clear in the course of this primary is that young voters are affecting the outcomes of elections like never before in this country’s history. More people have been coming to the polls than ever before. But ultimately, it is up to us to get involved — whether it means volunteering for a campaign, getting well versed on the issues or simply encouraging friends to register.
Because when we sit on the sidelines, complaints about what transpires can only be equated with playing the role of the Monday morning quarterback.
02-14-2008