Oblivious students vote

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    By Jacqueline Lee

    Even though BYU and UVSC students account for a large part of Provo”s voting population, few students choose to vote.

    Jill Wagner, a senior from Hanover Park, Ill., said students choose to keep their votes in their home states where they are needed more.

    “I”m an Illinois voter, because I know that my vote is needed more in Illinois than it is in Utah,” Wagner said. “In Utah, the people I like are usually elected.”

    Bryan Cheney, a sophomore from Ames, Iowa, said he also chooses to keep his vote at home because elections are closer there.

    “Utah is so republican, my vote doesn”t even count, even if I vote republican,” said Cyrus Keller, a sophomore from Omaha, Neb.

    Heather Wym, a UVSC student from Salt Lake City, said she also feels disconnected with Provo.

    “I don”t care about Provo because I don”t feel like it”s home,” she said.

    Some students don”t vote because they are completely unaware of the upcoming elections or feel too uninformed to vote.

    “What? We vote for the president this year?” responded Amy Peterson, a senior from Bethesda, Md., when asked if she would be voting.

    “I don”t vote because it would just be me checking boxes for pretty names,” said Jenny Oliver, a senior from Evanston, Wyo.

    Mark Patterson, a sophomore from Charlottesville, Va., said it is students” duty to vote.

    “We (students) are irrelevant to candidates because we don”t vote,” Patterson said. “The only people politicians care about are business men and old people. Our issues are irrelevant.”

    Patterson is choosing to keep his vote at home in Virginia where he said it is needed more.

    “If our generation voted, politicians would address our issues,” Cheney said.

    Wagner said she thinks students should only vote if they are informed.

    “Students who are not informed and vote are detrimental,” she said. “Someone can tell them anything and they”ll believe it. It”s scary.”

    Students should vote and be educated voters, Patterson said.

    “It is disgraceful how apathetic our generation is,” he said.

    Students that are voting in next month”s elections said they hope to make a difference, and that other students will vote too.

    “I think students should vote because they are a part of the Provo community, so it is important to have their opinion counted,” said Jen Robertson, a sophomore from Orem. “I choose to vote because it is my civic duty and responsibility and it is important that we have a say.”

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