During election season it is common for a newspaper like the Indianapolis Star and the Evansville Courier & Press to endorse a candidate. Some newspaper endorsements can even have a positive or negative effect on a candidate’s campaign.
Unlike in past years, The Shield will not be endorsing a candidate this year. This was a decision by the staff because, like this university, members of The Shield are diverse in their political ideals.
We, the editorial board at The Shield, agreed that a newspaper should not side with one party or another. We want to present only the facts of all parties and candidates to the best of our abilities.
Instead, we advise you to exercise your right to vote for the presidential, state and local candidates.
We strongly encourage you to exercise your constitutional rights and vote in the federal, state and local elections. Do your research. (We have a guide for you in the week’s issue.)
The Shield staff members have heard several times from many students that they aren’t voting for congressmen and women and Indiana statehouse candidates because they don’t know anything about the candidates. However, we encourage you to vote because these politicians do affect your everyday life.
For example, this summer, Congress voted to extend the interest rates on Stafford Loans. If you take out federal loans, this legislation affects you. Indiana senators and representatives that work at the statehouse vote on state laws that affect you as well.
The President may be the “head honcho” of the government, but he certainly is not the only person that affects us as college students. The collaborative decisions and duties of all government branches shape our experience by restricting, limiting or freeing up our options.
If you care about your options (whatever those may be), then it is in your best interest to put in the time and effort required to cast an educated vote.
You don’t have to “care about the candidates,” but we hope you would at least care enough about yourself to go that extra mile.