Why don’t we vote more?

In her talk, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren emphasized the importance of youth involvement in the political process. One of the primary ways we as students can get involved is by voting.

Massachusetts’ general elections will take place in about two months. According to Nancy Thomas, director of the Study of Higher Education and Public Life at Tisch College, and Tufts Democrats Co-President Sam Kelly, voter registration at Tufts is down due to lack of interest.

When so many Tufts students demonstrate a clear interest in serving the community through organizations like the Leonard Carmichael Society and the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, why is there so much apathy when it comes to voting?

There are a few reasons. Tufts follows national trends -- voting among 18 to 24-year-olds nationally had declined prior to the 2012 presidential election from about 45 to 38 percent. Voting in local elections can seem difficult for students, as the campus spans four different voting precincts, not to mention additional precincts for the hundreds of Tufts students who live off campus.

It's easy to exist solely within an all-encompassing "Tufts bubble," where students are consumed entirely by events like Fall Gala and the plethora of available classes and extracurricular activities. With everything that happens on campus, it can be difficult to keep up with Somerville and Medford news, or even to feel like a true part of the local community.

Student participation in local elections can make all the difference when it comes to laws concerning financial aid and student loan payments. These issues, which are a hallmark of Senator Warren's political career, affect college students across the country and can have tangible effects on hundreds of Tufts students.

Voting can also ground Tufts students in the Somerville and Medford communities, creating a greater sense of belonging to the cities in which we spend our four years. Voting sparks important discussions on how the Tufts community relates to its neighbors. While voting nationally has the potential to change the leadership of our country, voting locally can and will create real changes on the ground.

Many Tufts students are actively mobilizing Tufts toward political participation. The Vote Everywhere Ambassadors for the Andrew Goodman Foundation are working to increase voter registration across campus in time for Massachusetts' general election. Tufts Democrats regularly holds registration drives for voters of every political affiliation around campus, and provide shuttles to the four polling locations.

Simply put, go register to vote and when November rolls around, go vote.