By Hayden Hackney
Staff writer
Email: thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com
With exceptions like clubs and organizations, the topic of politics has become a touchy subject for all different kinds of students, so much so that it’s sparsely discussed. As the country enters into the election season, a question arises – do students still care about politics?
When a couple Hutchinson Community College students were asked this question and more, their answers were surprisingly different.
The first issue with college students and modern politics is registering to vote. This is most freshmen’s first year being able to vote, and for some, the registration process is a task that stands in the way.
“I don’t know how, but I also haven’t really found the time to do it,” said Caden Hendrix, a freshmen student studying architectural engineering.
Hendrix isn’t the only one, in fact a 2022 Civic Nation study shows that 33% of all students across the country are not registered to vote.
However, registration isn’t the only hurdle. Every student has their own level of importance when it comes to politics, and whether it really matters on a personal level.
“I do believe that politics are getting more important as more people are getting a hold of the media,” said Caysen Cox, a freshman studying software engineering.
Cox brings up a good point regarding media, as the growth of media has created a general spread of information that was not accessible before, especially regarding politics. A Pew Research Center poll from 2019 showed that 43% of people get political information from media platforms.
“I would think now it is important for a lot of college students,” said Hendrix, “considering if we were to have a war, we would be the ones going to it.”
Overall, even through the small hurdles, it seems that politics remain an important aspect of the majority of college students’ personal lives.
“I do think they are important,” Cox said, “people should do their research when choosing who to vote for.”
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