Cat Ardes
Staff Writer

If you didn’t know there was an upcoming presidential election in November, then you may just be living under a rock. Not only does the news cover it at some point every day (if not all day), but our Facebook news feeds and twitter timelines have been filled with our friends and family stating their opinions on each candidate.  With technology at our fingertips, it’s quite hard in this day to not know of anything going on.  Since we do attain our information so quickly, we sometimes find it hard to decipher whether we are getting the straight facts or opinions of the source that is providing us the information.
As I hear more of what Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are promising, if either one were to win the election, I can’t help but think of how important it is for everyone to vote, especially our generation. Big decisions will be made on topics such as abortion, education, immigration, health care, the economy, the environment, loan interest rates, gun control, and many other issues relevant today. Some students may only be concerned about a few of these topics, whereas others may find importance in all of them.
I do know one topic all students have in common and that is our concern with the cost of tuition. No matter how you are able to attend Millersville, I think we all start biting our nails when we think about loans or the money in our pockets, and that is an incredibly important issue when it comes to voting for the next president.
To help yourself become more aware and educated about each candidate, do your homework. Listen to them when they give speeches, interviews, and answer questions. All though it may be hard to find a non-opinionated article, try looking up articles that have been written on them and watching the news for everything they do as it happens.
If you are registered to vote then you are in good shape. For the students who still have yet to register, no worries, you still have time. November 6 is Election Day, and you are given 30 days before then to register. If you are not sure how to register you can go online, print out a registration form, fill it out and send it in.  Thanks to a few volunteers, they are making it particularly convenient to register. They will have a table set up in the SMC a few days out of the week either by the book store or the juice bar until October 9. There, you can fill out the registration form and that’s it. Definite dates for the registration table are September 17th-19th 9am to 3pm and September 25th in front of the Huntingdon House.
A new law passed this year requires every voter to bring a photo ID. So before you go to the polls, make sure you bring a Driver’s license or student ID with you. If your student ID does not have an expiration sticker on it, you can go to the Boyer building on campus and have that put on.
In the end, it’s just you in the poll by yourself, able to make a decision solely based on what you care about the most. Take advantage of your rights and use it to your potential to make a difference for your future.