With uncertainty in the state legislature regarding the upcoming fiscal year and the approaching elections, it is now more important than ever that college students begin to form their own political opinions and make their voices heard.

It is not uncommon to hear many young people do not care or do not know what happens behind the scenes in governmental bodies, choosing instead to vote the way their parents and family tell them to, or choosing to not vote at all. Most college students feel it is not as important as other things in their lives and brush it aside until a big election comes about. For some, token research is done to brush up on issues and candidates before heading to the polls.
However, that’s discounting the one thing that all college students have been taught to do from the moment they walked onto campus.

We, as college students, have the ability to absorb and process information, think critically and form an educated opinion on any topic. We’re given problem-solving skills, and if chosen to be used, the ability to look at an issue from every side to develop an unbiased view on those issues. Think about all the nights spent cramming, where we go from being uneducated about a topic to experts in amatter of a few hours. While probably not the best way to approach learning, it does show that college students tend to have the ability to learn a wealth of knowledge in a short amount of time. Why not take the opportunity to learn more when given more time to do so?

As has been said many times over the past few weeks, we can be the ones who are in control of what happens to higher education in this state. We can be the ones who take a stand and say that we want a better life and are doing so through a college education. We’re no longer teenagers in high school being led around by the noses and spoon-fed school boards’ set of standards. We are all young adults capable of higher leveled thinking if we wished to do so. We just have to want it.

An educated populace is much more difficult to silence than an uneducated one, but a populace choosing to silence itself is setting itself up for failure. There is no room for complaints when there was no opposition. You have opportunities to be heard. Contact your local legislators, your local media and tell them what you want them to know.

Sure, politics are boring. Sure, there are some politicians who never make good on their campaign promises. Sure, there are a million things that we feel need to be done in our daily lives. Those are excuses and it’s time to stop hiding behind them. It doesn’t take more than a Google search to find out everything you need to know about any topic. We’ve all done it during sleepless nights before and we’ll do it again. Take the step into adulthood and form an educated opinion of your own about these issues that are affecting us.

Break away from basing your opinions on those of your family and social circle, but most importantly, choose to be heard. Silence is only golden in movie theaters.