STUDENT BECOME POLITICALLY ACTIVE WITH ELECTION

RACHEL GREEN, TRUMPET GUEST WRITER

With the upcoming 2020 Presidential election, college students are becoming more politically active, including at Wartburg College.

“Getting [ college students] involved with politics is important because young adults do not typically vote,” Eva Schoell, a first-year international relations major, currently serves as a precinct captain for the Pete Buttigieg campaign at Wartburg College and surrounding Waverly area, said. “I have been trying to get people more involved and aware of what is going on.”

For the 2020 Iowa Caucus, Pete Buttigieg leads Bernie Sanders by .1% with 99% of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press. Youth voter turnout in the 2018 midterm election increased by 16% from the election in 2014, according to Harvard Politics. This increase is not surprising to Schoell.

“People are frustrated,” Schoell said. “They feel like their voices are not being heard.”

Playing a significant role in the presidential selection process is new to Schoell. Schoell grew up in Illinois and this is her first election season living in Iowa. Although many grow tired of the constant political ads and frequent appearances of candidates, Schoell sees the prevalence as
an opportunity.

“Being from Illinois and coming here I realized that this is a really good opportunity as someone very passionate about politics to be involved,” Schoell said. “I got excited because it is a part that I can do as a young person who feels like I am not in control of what is going on in the
government.”

Other outlets for political activism at Wartburg include joining the Wartburg Republicans, Wartburg Democrats, Turning Point USA or participating in various rallies in and around Waverly.

“To be politically active is to show that you care,” Schoell said. “It shows that you want to be involved in something that represents your future. If you want change, then you need to do something about it. That is caucusing, voting, spreading the news, talking to people, starting the conversation.”

For more information about the 2020 election, go to ballotpedia.org.