A few weeks ago, it was announced that President Trump signed a bipartisan COVID-19 stimulus package bill. While many people were relieved, college students across America were left totally forgotten. Although student loan payments are being deferred for six months, college students will not qualify for the $1,200 stimulus check and their parents won’t receive an extra $500 because they are over the age of 16. I’m not going to waste your time explaining that many college students pay for their own education, rent and groceries despite being out of work right now because we already know this. Instead, let’s talk about what we can do about this problem.
I’ve been bombarded on social media with Tweets, Instagram posts and stories of people voicing their frustrations and sadly, they often have to defend themselves against older social media users responding that we should have simply declared ourselves as independents on our taxes, as if we had an option. While posting on social media can promote awareness, I think we’re forgetting the most important thing we should be doing right now, which is contacting our representatives. If you want a more in depth guide on how to do this, I wrote an article on this that you can find here.
We need to make our voices heard now more than ever. If you’re upset about something your representatives are doing, please write to them. It can be as simple as sending an email, although I would recommend a handwritten letter. Write to the congressman from your district as well as Senator Roy Blunt and Senator Josh Hawley. College students are often criticized for their demographic’s low voter turnout and political inactivity. Let’s break the stereotype that college students aren’t politically active and write some letters in addition to posting on social media. It’s time that our representatives do their jobs and represent every age in their constituency.