Monday, April 4, 2011

what if youth voted?


One of the biggest complaints I hear from youth about voting is that, "my vote will not make a difference". That is entirely true and false at the same time. It's true, an individual vote will not make much difference when candidates usually win by margins in the thousands. But think... what if everyone voted? What if every student voted? The political landscape would not look the same as it does now. There are 500 000 undergraduate students in Canada. Roughly 1/3 Vote.
Would you drive a car without putting your hands on the steering wheel? That's like being a Canadian citizen and not voting.

Ok, here's the deal: If you have ever voted in Canadian Idol, you must vote in the Federal election. It would be really sad if you only voted in Canadian Idol, really sad.

Students at the University of Guelph are empowered to vote, as was seen in the recent "Vote Mob" video. Today, students have something else planned: A "Surprise Party" for Stephen Harper; the event's description is a bit of a mis-nomer as 700 people have already confirmed their attendance on Facebook. Harper is coming to the Guelph Delta Hotel this afternoon to support the Conservative candidate Marty Burke. Guelph students will line the sidewalks on Stone road, and will probably be super loud.
This event has been advertised as non-partisan, but I'm almost certain it will be dominated by leftist supporters (not that there is anything wrong with that). Besides, if you actually support Stephen Harper's policy regarding student issues, why would you stand outside in the rain and complain that student's voices are not being heard. If you support Stephen Harper, your message is being heard already and you're probably more likely to actually register and attend the event at the Delta.
The goal of the rally is to raise awareness of student issues among politicians. Or at least, that's what I take away. This is such a great event, and hopefully the message spreads to other candidates. Here was the first "Flash Mob" video:

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