Students of today are not as informed as they should be about issues that affect them politically.
There are a number of upcoming measures on the ballot that will have a direct impact on students, but so many are so tuned into the latest Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj conflict that, when it comes to politics, many will have no say on issues that directly affect their ability to continue with their education
Last week, Twitter was completely abuzz during the presidential debates, but most of the tweets were people complaining about the way Mitt Romney was handling himself or about Barack Obama not being “gangsta’ enough.”
No one seemed to really understand the policies and issues being discussed.
Students complain about the ongoing construction on campus. They feel that money may be better spent helping to keep tuition fees lower. What they don’t realize is that Measure E, a bond measure that appears on the ballot, is funding all current construction on campus.
Funding for schools would come from either Proposition 30 and Proposition 38. It seems that most students are unaware of these two propositions and the big part they play in potential cuts to educational funding and the eventual tuition hikes coming down the line at California universities.
On the social networks, it seemed more people were involved in the retweeting of Snoop’s purloined “Why I’m not voting for Romney” list than they were in spreading actual information that could help their fellow voters make informed decisions on this year’s ballot.
The bottom line is that students need to pull out the ear buds every once in a while. Instead of tuning in to the latest hits available on the Spotify app, they should tune in to what is going on around them.
There are measures and propositions on the ballot that will determine whether or not California will even be able to sustain community colleges. If enough young people don’t get active and more involved, they may find out just how poorly informed they have been when it is far too late.