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Opinion: Why I Am Voting

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at OSU chapter.


Politics is a topic that I’ve worked hard to understand election after election. I’m sure there are several students my age who share this challenge, wondering where they fit into the big picture. In a country as large as the United States, there are many citizens around the country who speculate as to whether or not their vote actually counts.

For me, it’s more than whether or not your vote counts; it’s the pride and appreciation of being able to openly express how you feel about important issues. If you think about it, as an American, your rights are all you have protecting you. However, when it comes to America, it seems that citizens often take the right of free speech for granted. Consider China: their citizens aren’t even allowed to use Facebook. Imagine living in a country with that level of constraint on your ability to speak your mind.

This system of election in use today is what our country was built on years ago. For young women like us, voting is especially important. It’s essential to remember the struggles that women leading up to the 1920s had to endure in order to obtain equal rights. Why throw away what they worked so hard for?

I am voting this election season because I have that right. If you aren’t voting, what separates you from those who don’t care what happens to our country, or from those in other countries who don’t have the right to vote? We, as young people, need to appreciate what those who came before our time built us. Exercise your right this election season—you won’t regret it.

Photo Source:  http://www.bigislandchronicle.com/2012/07/22/letters-dont-miss-your-chan…

Kali Grant is the founding Editor-in-Chief and Campus Correspondent for the OSU chapter of Her Campus. Kali is pursuing a B.A. in Public Affairs at the John Glenn School with a minor in Communication and is excited to be in her senior year. Kali is a student research assistant at the Glenn School and is a proud member of the Zeta Alpha chapter of Chi Omega. Kali has spent her collegiate summers interning with The Institute on Women and The Salvation Army and studying Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When she’s not daydreaming about returning to New Orleans and San Francisco, Kali loves drinking coffee, talking about cats and politics, and trying out questionable vegetarian recipes.