A little randomness

Do college students really care about voting? Do they vote in local elections?

I suppose it’s tough to say because most college students do not live in the area in which they attend school and I’m not sure if they are politically involved.

As the mayoral and city council member debates draw closer, I wondered if anyone seriously cared.

I followed my gut instinct; to assume most students would give me the ol’ “I don’t live here, so why should I vote?� bit and figured they wouldn’t want to talk to me.

Well, I was surprised.

After talking to several students, I found that UMD students DO care about local elections and politics, at least enough to vote.

In fact, UMD has 3,685 registered voters at last years’ election, according to the City of Duluth Election and Voting Web site.

So, students vote. A big red flag went off in my head – why? Why are students voting?

I doubt all the young activists magically gravitate towards the city of Duluth in search for political freedom.

After a little research, I found a more probable explanation – student political organizations.

I found Jared Dyrdahl, a junior at UMD, chilling in the resident’s hallway, waiting for his Chinese to be delivered.

And man, he had a million things to say about voting.

He’s pretty set on his own political decisions, but he said student political organizations do a good job at getting the word out.

Jaclyn Hillesheim and Drew Jensen are also students that felt said the organizations were really helpful.

“I receive a lot of emails from the organizations and I see them all the time in the hallways,� Jensen said. “I also see picket signs, poster and information everywhere.�

But this info just doesn’t get put there. It takes the sweat, hard work and appreciation from people like Will Kellogg and his group.

Kellogg, the VP of the College Democrats, said UMD has a lot history of being politically active.

Although he puts up a lot of signs and spends most of his time debating, swooning and contributing the student’s political success, he said UMD’s willing to vote makes his job a hell of a lot easier.

So … basically, UMD votes. They also vote with help from people like Kellogg and his group.

UMD students are getting a little taste of the wonderful world of politics.

And casting a few votes too.

Posted by Ali Draves at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.bloggers4freedom.com/

This was a very interesting blog, mainly because it is strictly from the viewpoints of those soldiers who are fighting on the Iraqi war front. I felt this was the perfect way to tell your story -- you can say basically whatever you want and whatever you feel. I sometimes think political writing, especially those that concern war, are always misguided and really try to "disguise" the truth. At least with a blog, the soldiers can say whatever they want. I really feel this was an effective way to show the truth of the war through the soldiers eyes. (A little sad and scary, but truthful)

http://www.campusprogress.org/page/community/group/main

I also loved this blog, it was really random and a more "typical" blog cite, but I thought it was awesome because it had so many different opinions. I loved reading it because of all the stories, opinions and factoids about college itself. Some people posted serious discussions, while others posted goofy things. I thought it was exactly what you should have because college students are intelligent, but they are also random and crazy. (Some of us aren't ;)) But I thought it was a good mix.

Posted by Ali Draves at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So here it is. I'm hoping this will be fun -- something I enjoy, rather than just something that is forced. Hopefully it'll work out.

Read it. It should be fun.

Posted by Ali Draves at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)