By Suanne Wong
Contributing writer
Are students at Sinclair Community College prepared for the presidential elections in November?
If not, October is their last chance to get informed. The League of Women Voters will put out non-partisan documents about candidates and issues, and Sinclair will hold an election forum for students to attend.
The forum is organized by the Student Leadership Development (SLD) and the Political Science department. Advisor and former Ohio Senator Tom Roberts said they hope to bring senate candidates and representatives of presidential candidates to this year’s forum.
“’All politics is local,’” Roberts said, quoting former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. “There’s always a lot of excitement about national elections, but there should be an emphasis on every election. The school board makes decisions that affect our lives just as much.”
The forum has been running for a few years now, and is only one of the many ways that Sinclair is trying to get students involved and informed.
The American Democracy Project is an initiative to do just that on college campuses across the U.S. Four years ago, the Democracy Commitment was created under the umbrella of the Project specifically for community colleges – of which Sinclair was an original signatory.
SLD Manager Chris Bridges and Professor of Communication Arts David Bodary attended a Democracy Commitment conference to learn more ways to build citizenship. Bridges said that there were more events in development for the fall, such as a guided dialogue on national issues by the Kettering Foundation, and an “emerging leaders” program for new Sinclair students.
“The [Student Leadership] office is trying to give students the opportunity to be involved, to develop citizenship,” Bridges said. “But it’s up to individual students to participate and take advantage.”
When asked whether he thought students at Sinclair were well-informed, Roberts said, “I think they’re average in relation to the public. They’re representative of the community.”
One student, Aisha Ahmed, a Theater Technology major, said, “I haven’t kept up to date with the issues.” Carolyn Hofacre, Dental Hygiene major, said, “Yes, but I’m undecided.”
John Nehr, a Computer Science major, said, “Yes. I think everyone should vote,” adding that those who planned on voting should be informed voters, and that “sometimes [politics] stresses me out to the point where I don’t want to know, but it’s important.”
Though he understands discouraged or apathetic voters, Roberts believes that civic participation is very important. “We can’t all go to Washington, so we’ve chosen one of our fellow citizens to go speak on our behalf. These people speak on our behalf at every level because we’ve given up direct vote for spokespeople.”
Roberts said it’s not about “the chaos” and what individual politicians do, but the philosophy behind voting and our roles as citizens. He believes Student Leadership is one of the best ways to learn about leadership, especially its complexities. With the return of elected officers for student government, students can find out for themselves what leadership is like.
“You see that making decisions is hard,” Roberts said.
Bridges also encourages students to become informed and vote. “Voting is your first and maybe only ability to interact with your own government.”
Registering to vote can be done in libraries, some community events, online, and even at Sinclair when either the Student Leadership Association or outside vendors have set up tables in the basement of Building 8. More information is available at the Ohio Secretary of State’s page (http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/Voters/FAQ.aspx).