Late registration

Students should register to vote by Saturday

Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, remarked that if everybody lied, human communication would die out because nobody could be trusted anymore. Loans would not be given out anymore because a promise to pay them off would surely be false. In the same way, if everybody took the position that they will not register to vote and then vote this November, the backbone of American democracy would crumble. Students should register to vote, if for no other reason than to better American society. Beyond that, students should register to ensure that their interests are not overlooked by elected officials.

Under Michigan law, everyone who wishes to vote in the November elections must register before Oct. 3. Since the coming elections are probably the most important that will come for the next two years, students should make sure that they can cast a ballot in it.

It is safe to say that the majority of students on the University's campus are over 18, citizens of the United States and therefore, eligible to register to vote. If all of those eligible to register did so by Oct. 3, the University's student body could have a significant political impact on local and state elections. Obviously, the whole student body will not agree on all issues, but it is still important for their input to be made on Nov. 3.

Also, students should register to vote in Ann Arbor. Out-of-state students who are registered to vote in their home state should switch their registration. Students live in Ann Arbor for eight months - the vast majority of the year. Their time spent here is enough to make political decisions in Ann Arbor and Michigan important to their lives. The Michigan governor and the state Legislature - through their control over state appropriations to the University - will have a significantly greater impact on students' lives than will a governor in a state where students spend - at most - four months out of the year. With its ability to set tuition, make academic policies and guide the administration, the University Board of Regents has quite possibly the most influence of any elected body on students' lives. But if students are registered to vote in another state, they will have no impact on the composition of the board.

Students who are registered to vote should also encourage their friends and acquaintances to register. All those students who have fulfilled their civic duty by registering to vote should go beyond it by getting others to register to vote in Ann Arbor.

There are many ways for students to register before the deadline. Students can go to the Netvote '98 Website at http://www.netvote.mci.com and submit their registration form online. In addition, Voice Your Vote, a University student organization, will be registering people on the Diag on Friday.

Students should think of how bad it will be if the idea or candidate they dislike the most won - and how they should attempt to counteract that by casting a ballot. Everybody in the student population eligible to vote and not registered yet should think about their most abhorred political ideas or characters. Then, in that moment of fear of that issue passing or that candidate winning, the students should go out and register to vote right here in Ann Arbor.

10-01-98