By: Kirsten Barron 

According to a Tufts University poll, 31% of 18-29-year-old Americans voted in the 2018 midterm elections. It may not sound very impressive, but it’s notably higher than the 21% in 2014. This year’s record turnout included many Carlow students. Here are reasons some students exercised their 15th Amendment rights. 

Sarah Majetic, a professional counseling grad student, believes that if college students want to see changes in legislation, they need to vote. “If you continue to be silent, you can’t expect to have a voice,” says Majetic. “If you want a say, you have to do it through the avenues provided.” College students are concerned about exorbitant tuition and the resulting student debts, but very few political candidates’ campaign for college tuition reform. Majetic believes that if more students would vote, candidates would view them as valuable constituents and implement legislation to benefit college students.  

Junior psychology major, Maddie Canel, believes that everyone should vote, but that voters should educate themselves about the candidates before voting. Canel believes that, “every vote matters and if you want to see a change you have to go out and make it happen.”  

College students are the youth of today, but in a decade or two, it will be up to them to keep the country functioning. As early development and learning junior Alana Jordan points out, “voting helps build a better future for every American. As the younger generation, we’ll be living in the future that we’re building.”