How to Get Cathryn Frear's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

Generation Y is a lot of things.  We are the first set of kids brought up in a truly digital age.  We are the kids brought up with bubble-gum pop and a major wave of boy/girl bands. We are the kids who worship the 90s.  We are another thing, as well: we’re adults and no longer kids.  We’re grownups now and grownups make grownup decisions, whether they like it or not.  We had a high voter turnout last election, and I say we keep that rolling this election, too.

As for me, I have a few criteria which a candidate must abide by if he or she wants my vote.  Here goes:

Pro-education

And when I say pro-education, I don’t mean they just LIKE education, I mean they fight for and protect it.  My stepmom is a fourth grade teacher and possibly the biggest complaint in our house about the educational system in America is there are too many standardized tests.  There has to be a better way.  I don’t have the solution; that’s not my job.  But I do have a vote to choose who I think will have the solution.

Military "Can we get out of places we don't belong?"

We’re at war with everyone when we should only maybe waging war with Al Qaeda and that’s it.  Iran is a real threat, yes, but if there is some more diplomatic way to solve the Iran problem, let’s do that.  Iraq was basically our generation’s Vietnam.  Obviously it wasn’t nearly as bad and no war is completely comparable to another, but they had some commonalities.  It was pointless, many of our young people died, and we spent years dragging this out instead of using our money for more important things.  Like the deficit.  Or rebuilding homes for Hurricane Katrina victims.  Or feeding the needy.  Reasons for being at war with Iraq really pale in comparison to actually worthy causes.

Civil rights

Our generation’s civil rights movement is mostly to do with gays.  This is the most important criterion.  This is the true deciding factor for me.  There are some things I will never understand.  The inability for same-sex couples to devote their lives to one another and have that recognized and protected by the government is one of them.  I believe strongly in separation of Church and State.  If certain Churches don’t want to allow marriages to be performed by their people, fine.  Forget about the Pope.  Let him twirl around in his fancy, Bejazzled dress telling you your path to salvation is crumbling before you.  Whatever.  But the government should still marry these people.  Marriage recognized by the government gives couples certain rights; almost 2000 rights which are not protected, even if the couple is civilly unionized.  I would go into the rights, but think about it this way: the phrase “what’s yours is mine” is taken pretty literally by the government.  Apply that to nearly every right American citizens have and there you have what it legally means to be married.  It’s Not only unfair and unjust to put laws such as the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman unless your state feels otherwise, it’s unconstitutional.  The federal government needs to step in and stand by the unalienable rights of all citizens.

What it comes down to and what I’m trying to say here is, vote.  Educate yourself on the issues and who stands for what and cast your ballot.  Even if you vote against what I believe, at least you let yourself be heard.  Because whoever is in office will help to decide a lot of important things.  Those things will affect you and every single American citizen.  In a big way.

Cathryn Frear
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2012

How to Get Gillyan Gowarty's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

I may be a young voter, and I may not have had the opportunity to vote in a presidential election yet because of my age, but this does not mean that I do not have opinions. I am a registered Republican, but I will vote based on where the candidate stands on issues that are important to me, even if that candidate is not a Republican. This will most likely be the case in the next election, because I am not at all impressed with the Republican candidates thus far.

Jobs

I am a student, but I will be graduating this coming May, so student aid is not at the top of my priority list at this point. I am much more concerned about being able to get a job and being able to move out of my parent’s house and support myself. I am also concerned about healthcare. My health is far from perfect, and if I cannot find a job that will allow me to purchase my own health insurance, I am going to be in big trouble. I am currently on my parent’s healthcare plan, which is great for now, but it is not a long-term plan. I do not necessarily agree with Obama’s bill that will allow children to be on their parents’ healthcare plan until they are 26. To some degree, I think this is a good idea, because if I should be unable to find a job right away, I will still be protected. However, I think it is encouraging children to stay in their parents’ homes and live off of them without even looking for a job, because it is not necessary. I think this is wrong. I do live with my parents right now, and I am very thankful for that, but I do not look at it as a long-term solution. I want to be able to move out on my own and support myself. This is why I went to college. I would like to get married someday, but my mother always taught me the importance of being able to live independent of a man, as she has done and could do now if it becomes necessary. This leads me to my next point.

End Gender Inequality

In order to get my vote, do not talk down to me because I am a woman. Do not tell me how I should live my life or what my duties are. If I choose to have children, that will be my decision. If this does occur, I will still have a career, as my mother always did. It is not feasible to live and raise a family on one income, unless that one income is substantial. There is also the rising issue of birth control. Outlawing it or making it unavailable to women is absolutely ridiculous. There are too many people as it is who have children that they cannot afford. Outlawing birth control would only add to that problem. In addition to that, birth control is not always used to solely prevent pregnancy. That is the main purpose of it, yes, but there are other benefits to women. I was prescribed a birth control pill to treat and prevent my polycystic ovary syndrome. Without it, I would probably need surgery in the future, which I will not be able to pay for if I cannot buy health insurance. It all comes together.

Gillyan Gowarty
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2013

How to Get Joshua Pellew's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

As a young voter, and college student certain issues in this upcoming election matter. Mainly job creation, health care, foreign affairs, and now forever increasing fuel prices matter to me the most. The first time I voted in 2008 the issues were about change getting out of these financial deficits that were still currently dealing with. I feel that this upcoming election we voters have a very difficult choice on our hands. Do we stay with our current president who (I feel) has done most of what he can or do we elect a new president (one of the republic candidates) to take control and possibly change things.

Currently the vote on the republic candidates is between Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney and I personally thing neither one of them has a decent plan for changing the current issues that concern me. As a young American currently heading into the job market what jobs will be available to me? Will I be able to get a job in my field willing to pay enough so that I can obtain my own medical insurance, pay back my student loans, and even maintain a living on my own?

This is what I’m afraid of the most. I’m not sure I fully believe in any candidates plan for change in the current administration, I think there should be a complete revamp of congress with people who have experience and some general compassion for not just the middle class but for all people. I am not a strong supporter of anyone of these candidates even though Santorum’s solutions moderately speak to me. I feel he is only winning because his financial contributions and popularity not for his solutions. Although, I am not happy with my choices now that Ron Paul is a “non-factor” in this race but the president’s administration has not completely failed us, we are getting there little by little.

Another issue of mine is the U.S. involvement in foreign affair how we must come to the rescue of every country that is in the mist of civil warfare and spread our democracy, but how can we spread our government when our government is beginning to fail us? I feel the U.S. should stay out of foreign affairs unless issues of genocide and civil war are at stake. The problem is between the uses of Soft power (humanitarianism) vs. Hard power (military). The U.S. should only focus on regional conflict and global security not spending money and sacrificing U.S. personal. With many of my family members as active duty soldiers including my youngest sister, I would hate to see the U.S. involved in matters it has no business in.

Overall, the U.S. and the state it’s in have left me wondering for my future. I’m that who every wins the presidential election knows that in order to restore the country everyone must reach some sort of common ground otherwise I’m moving to Canada.

Joshua Pellew

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2012

Get My Vote, Go Green

When I look at a candidate running for President I look for many things, character, policies, and  how well he or she conducts themselves in their public and private lives. These are general things I consider when casting my vote, but one that sticks out to me more than the others is where a candidate stands on the environment and green energy. I think this topic is vastly over looked in this particular election so far. The problems we have with the environment, gas prices, and even electrical power are not going away, they are getting worse, and I think that a candidate running for President should really give this subject their full attention.

Going further into why going green and helping the environment is important, is the fact that if we fix this problem it can help start to fix the rest of the problems in this country. For example, gas prices are only getting higher, and because of this all other items such as food, toys, and the like are all going up in price as well. This is due to the fact that in order for the food and the toys to get to retailers, trucks and other forms of transportation have to get the products to the stores and what does the transportation run on? Gas.


I think a candidate should have a policy that helps fund alternative fuels for automobiles. There are already ideas out there on how to make a alternative fuel car or truck, they just need funding to jump start production. With that funding the alternative fuel industry will grow and with this growth a steady stream of jobs will bloom. Providing more jobs will then help the economy get back to were it should be, at the top leading the world.

I mentioned before that, our country would use more electrical supply, and a way to go about that is clean energy, like wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and many others. If our country needs more power we do not need more coal powered energy plants, spewing harmful gases into our atmosphere, we need a clean source of power that won't effect nature in anyway. Again I think that the government should start funding of clean energy, giving people money that want to put solar panels on their house or a wind turbine in their backyard, making going green easier on the wallets of people. Doing the same thing for power plants that want to produce cleaner energy as well. If we get more power in this country electricity bills will decrease significantly, or better yet not exist at all because you are powering your own home. Even better still, say it takes 1000watts to power your home, your wind turbine in your backyard is producing 1200watts, which means you have 200 watts to sell to the electric company for a little bit of profit.

Andrew Grandinetti
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2013

How to Get Dominick Costantino's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

Honesty

To get my vote on Election Day, a candidate must have certain qualities. First of all, I want someone who is honest. There are so many politicians who get caught in lies throughout an election campaign. I like and admire candidates who remain true to themselves throughout a campaign and keep their stance on issues the same. I also like a candidate who is down to earth. So many politicians are high class and act like they are better than everyone else. Why should someone with so much wealth be representing a country that is mostly middle class and lower? It’s alright to have money, but I don’t agree with flaunting it. I’m sorry but no one cares how much money you make in a year.

Education

An issue that is very important to me is education. I am a full-time college student and every year my financial aid goes down. We need more funding for higher education. There are so many young Americans in our country who are extremely bright, but just cannot afford to pay for a college education. Education needs to be a priority at all levels. The government needs to make sure there is enough funding so young Americans have a change to compete for jobs with other countries like China. The candidate who I vote for will prioritize education.

Healthcare

Another issue that is important to me is healthcare. I am a supporter of Obama’s current health care plan. Because of his plan, I am covered under my parents insurance until I am 26 years old. I cannot imagine what life would be like without insurance. I had to go to the emergency room in January, and my bill would have been $14,567 if I didn’t have insurance. Who can afford those type of bills? Also, I am considering going to graduate school after Wilkes to further my education. I will be able to go without worrying about healthcare because I am covered for six more years. I will not vote for any of the Republican presidential candidates because they all want a full repeal of “Obama Care.” This issue is extremely important to me and I cannot look past it when voting.

Gas Prices

The price of gas is ridiculous. Pretty soon the American people are not going to be able to drive because gas prices will be so high. For some, the price of gas might be restricting them from going on vacations, paying for prescription drugs, going to the doctors, etc. There is no reason why the price of gas should be as high as it is. From my understanding, a majority of our oil comes from places in the world that we are currently protecting or places that we protected. Since our soldiers are risking their lives to make peace in these countries, we should be able to get oil for hardly anything. Why should the other countries become rich and Americans suffer? If the price of gas keeps on rising, I don’t see how the American economy will ever recover. It really ticks me off that none of the politicians really care about the high price of gas. Just because you are all millionaires and can afford to fill up your tank no problem, doesn’t mean that the average working American can!

Jobs

Since I will be graduating from college in two years, jobs is another important issue for me. So many of our companies have gone overseas. Our government needs to bring these companies back to the United States so that Americans can have jobs. So many Americans want to work, but there is just not enough jobs out there. The government should reward those companies that move their headquarters back to the United States. The government should also reward products that are made in America. A majority of the products we buy are made in China. We all need jobs and a candidate that tries to create millions of jobs will get my vote on Election Day.

Eliminate Political Ads

One thing I cannot stand is political ads. Ever since I was in elementary school, I hated election season because of all the negative and stupid advertisements on television. From an early age I realize how cruel some of these ads are. Throughout my years of education, I learned how much money is spent on a campaign. Sources say that this presidential campaign will cost more than any of them in the past. I think there needs to be a regulation on how much a candidate can spend on a campaign. Billions of dollars are wasted each year just to get elected into a political office. We could do so much good for the world is this money was spent on other things. If we put all the money being spent on this Presidential election towards cancer research, we would have a cure. Millions of Americans would be able to live because there would be a cure to the disease that kills so many mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles. We could also feed, clothe, and house every single homeless person in America with all the money that is spent. We should start thinking about making this world a better place and stop with all this nonsense of advertisements that promote negativity. Our country could be a great place if individuals had different priorities.

Dominick Costantino
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2012

How to Get Mike Dargatis's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

In order for one of this year’s presidential candidates to receive my vote, there are several issues and core beliefs I would like for them to focus on. Being a young voter, and this being the first election I’m really involved in, I’d like the candidate that will be receiving my vote to follow certain guidelines that are important to me.

The number one quality I look for in a candidate, regardless of issues, is being relatable. I want a candidate that I feel has my best interests in mind, for the reason that they can understand where people like me are coming from. I also want my candidate to be for the common man, not a typical wealthy politician who is not very concerned with the common man.

As for issues for this upcoming election, there are a few that concern me as a young voter.

Jobs

Obviously as a college student close to graduation, I am concerned about the job market upon entering the work force. With unemployment at such a high rate, and young college graduates not getting jobs at this time, I need a candidate who will make sure young college students will have a better chance at a good job upon graduation.

Student Loans/Federal Aid

Another important issue for young collegiate voters is concerning the incredibly high amount of money students have to owe upon graduation. I want a candidate who is concerned about these high amounts of money students are owing, and who will fight to produce a more efficient system for people to go to college affordably.

Economy

Obviously, the economy as a whole is one of the primary issues in this year’s election. Our nation is currently in an unstable state as for as economics goes, so I need a candidate who is focused on turning the country around to reach prosperity once again.

Mike Dargatis

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2013

How to Get Kristina Seiger's Vote: A Young Voter Manifesto

As a 20 year old, female, first time voter there are several things that I am looking for in a candidate ranging from their stance on issues to their personality. I consider myself a very skeptical person to begin with so it’ll take a lot to persuade me to vote for a candidate. I will outline just a few of my criteria because if I went in-depth my printer would probably run out of ink about every little thing I look for in a candidate. I also understand that not every one of my criteria can be met and that I have to find a happy medium to be able to vote for anyone.

Equality

I believe that every person deserves to be treated equally whether they be female or gay or any other characteristic that people deem to be less than. Women are still paid less than their male counterparts and are not featured in the rule as government. Yet men in these positions find it necessary to make decisions regarding a woman’s reproductive rights. Not to mention that gay couples do not have the same rights as straight couples have. Gay rights have not come along even though they are people too. I find it disturbing that people can be voted into office even if they disregard an entire subsection of the population. Everyone should be treated equally and sadly this country hasn’t realized this yet.

Education/Jobs

The American dream is for parents to be able to send their children to college so the children can have a better life than what the parents had. This is becoming harder to do with the lack of financial aid that is provided for college students. The politicians say that they want to make it easier for working class kids to go to school, but how is that going to work out for all the rest of the middle class kids who are struggling. Now less financial aid is going to be spread out over a larger group of people. Then the politicians talk about how they want to bring manufacturing jobs back to this country, and does having a college degree really qualify them to work on a factory line? Meanwhile there are no jobs out there for people who do graduate with a degree and then they have to move back in with their parents and pay off all their debts. It’s a vicious cycle that needs to be fixed and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Likability

The candidate needs to seem likable and honest. If someone flip flop from one day to another, how can they be trusted? They need to stick to their convictions and if they believe something they need to stand by it. Too often people seem to be above everything or they say something than do the opposite and then they seem unlikable. By being forthright even if their opinions don’t match my own is still worth more than someone lying and saying what I believe. If they can have a good time and seem more down to earth by playing a saxophone or singing shows that they could be a fun person and I would probably like them more then.

These are just a few traits that could make a candidate more likeable to me in the long run.  The candidates need to be able to work together towards a long term goal rather than just until the next election cycle. But I find these traits to be almost nonexistent and not talked about. So I primarily focused on traits find out in the open that drives my voting habits.

Kristina Seiger

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2014