Yesterday’s election, for a Political Science major like me, felt a lot like watching the Super Bowl; seemingly endless hype, slaving around the television for hours, and some seriously hysterical (campaign) commercials. Now that it’s all over, my political junkie friends and I are feeling the equivalent of a hangover we’d expect to have on Monday in early February. After all, this election year was marked with some major milestones: young voters produced stunningly high turnout rates, women won a record-breaking 20 seats in the US Senate, and recreational marijuana was legalized in both Colorado and Washington. Still feeling your I-just-voted high? Want to know what you can do to stay involved? Here’s where you can start:
1. Get off Facebook (and Twitter too). This election has brought on a serious onslaught of political banter on most of our social media news feeds. As great as it is to see so many students with strong opinions on major issues, I think it’s safe to say we all need a break from political statuses and tweets. Still feel like your thoughts need to be heard? Try writing an opinions piece for a local newspaper or any school publication.
2. Subscribe to Daily or Weekly Political Newsletters. Registering for weekly or even daily email newsletters helps you stay informed almost effortlessly. The Economist has a great newsletter which selects top stories and sends the links to your inbox-so easy!
3.Know the Talking Points. It’s one thing to be a political junkie and need to know everything going on in the political world, it’s another to simply understand the major events and issues. Having a conversation about politics doesn’t have to be daunting if you keep up with the news more regularly. For more in-depth input on the issues, the Op-Ed section of the New York Times is a great place to start. Whether it’s reading the headlines online before class or watching the national news during commercials, anything helps!
4.Write Letters to Elected Officials. Feeling strongly about an issue? Having issues with policy on a local level? Writing levels to local government agencies is an effective and satisfying way to inspire political change.
Hopefully these tips will help you get over your election hangover and stay involved!