If you haven’t already voted, take the time next Tuesday to go vote.

In my personal opinion, the university should cancel all classes and events that day in order to give students the proper time to return home and cast their ballots.

The origin of the word “idiot” comes from the ancient Greek. It was a term for, in essence, one who did not exercise his right to take part in the political process by voting.

Why should you go to the polls and vote? By showing up to the polls, you are making voting a priority. Convenient voting is dangerous for a healthy democracy. If you are wondering how that could be, let me tell you.

A healthy democracy, it seems, will have a large percent of the people voting. Therefore, if you make voting easier, more people will vote, and the democracy will be stronger, right? Wrong. A healthy democracy is filled with people who make voting, along with other civic duties, their highest priorities.

The easier something is to do, the less meaningful it is. If we want to keep our form of government strong, we need elections that are meaningful to people.

I’m not suggesting that we ban absentee voting; rather what I am advocating for is everyone, who is able to, going to vote on election day.

By making voting a priority, we force ourselves to think about it in a meaningful way. We will do our best to educate ourselves on the candidates and their platforms if voting is important.

I like to see it when parents bring their children to the polls; it’s an experience that they should see.

Voting at the polls provides a sense of community that is a healthy balance for American individualism. Being around other people, whether you agree with how they are filling out their ballot or not, who have come together with the purpose of voicing their will to the government, is something that should be valued.

I know that your education is important, and you should never skip class.

However, if you haven’t voted yet, and you are close enough to home, I would recommend taking a holiday to go vote.

Tell your professors that you have to fulfill your civic duty, and you will make up your work another time.

If you can miss a class to take a nap (I know you’ve all done it too) you can miss a class to go vote!