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In a guest column by Associate ProfessorDanielle Leek published today on the frontpage of the Lanthorn, Leek wrote that a

U.S. presidential debate should give us areference point to start conversations about

politics, the candidates, policy and oursociety.

But at Grand Valley State University -

and college campuses nationwide - theresone big problem: not everybody is willing

to engage in those conversation.According to the Center for Information

and Research on Civic Learning and En-gagements most recent numbers on youthvoter turnout, 42 million people ages 18-29

are eligible to vote, making up 21 percent

of the total eligble voting population in theU.S., while seniors - who tend to retainmore extreme conservative policy views than

younger voters - total at 39 million. In the 2008election, 84% of those youth 18-29 who wereregistered to vote actually cast a ballot.

Statistics on Project Vote, a nonpartisan,nonprot organization dedicated that works to

works to empower, educate, and mobilizelow-income, minority, youth, and othermarginalized and under-represented voters

reports that as of November 2008, fewerthan half (49 percent) of the 3.7 million

18-year-old citizens were registered to vote.Thats 22 points lower than the general

population.Though a product of an arguably broken

voting system, the reality is that there is only

one day to cast your ballot for president, and

it only happens once every four years; andthe only thing worse than no vote is an unin-formed vote, so arm yourself with knowl-

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