By JAZMIN GOMEZ
Everyone eligible to vote should vote. With the 2024 presidential election coming up on November 5, everyone 18 or above in age should take advantage of this hard-fought human right. Listen or don’t to The Round Table, but at least listen to the educators here at Beloit College.
“It’s our civic duty. The entire structure of our government is set up to allow citizens to vote so that we can shape our government’s policies. Participation in a government is a fundamental human right. Many people do not get to enjoy that right, so people should take it seriously,” Beth Dougherty, a professor of International Relations, says on the importance of voting.
Voting is instrumental to our sustained democracy and continuous free speech. As Dougherty emphasized, not everybody can exercise this privilege. Daniel Brueckenhaus, an associate professor of History and Department Chair, says, “One thing to keep in mind, first of all, is that it’s actually an unusual fact that we have the right to vote in this country today, compared to most of human history and history in the last 500 or 1000 years,” stressing the right’s unique freedom.
“From a historical perspective, it’s actually a great achievement that that happened. It’s also the case that democracy and the right to vote can get lost quite easily. Like after the French Revolution, Napoleon came along and ended democracy when he became emperor. Or, in the case of Germany, where I am from originally, we had the Weimar Republic but then the Nazis came to power in 1933 and created a dictatorship. So again, democracy is something quite fragile,” Brueckenhaus says to the remarkability of the act of voting.
Acting as a lifeline for democracy, voting also seems to stand as a personal dedication. Sonya Maria Johnson, an associate professor of Religious Studies and Critical Identity Studies, says, “Because I am a U.S, African American woman, I am very intimately tied to the legacy of enfranchisement in the United States. There was a time where that was not a possibility– the ability and freedom to vote. I hold it as both a commitment to my own lineage as well as my public responsibility. I do so with great thought and great pride.”
Historically, voting came to fruition on the backs of the people, to ignore their efforts and successes is to refuse change as a whole. Beloit College, on the other hand, embraces the future and the great change that follows.
“If we can get college-age students to vote, it matters to a democracy over the long term. The Why Bother Wisconsin website is a website we started with area colleges to give time away during the school year for staff, faculty, and students to vote. So, the college wants the students to exercise their right to vote,” Eric Boynton, the president of Beloit College, says, “I encourage everyone to go to myvote.wi.gov. That website is crucial. You can go there to figure out how to register and where to register. You can register online or through mail by October 16. But, if it’s after Oct. 16 you can still go down to the clerk’s office. Everybody should know there’s still time to register to vote.”
Especially in Wisconsin, your one vote matters crucially. As Johnson says, “Every grain of sand matters to make the beauty of the beach,” explaining that the individual matters to the whole. As a swing state, one single effort could make a national change.
Boynton says, “Wisconsin is one of those states where single votes actually matter on a single level. You can’t let cynicism creep in. We have to practice voting because voting is actually a statement of optimism in democracy. You gotta get out to the polls. Democracy only works with engagement.”
Featured Image: Apple Valley Elementary
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