Opinion > August 28, 2008

Upon hearing that Resident Advisors were required to hand out voter registration forms to their residents, we feel that the university is sending a strong message to its students.

It is our opinion that well-rounded citizens, like those that students of the university should aspire to be, need to register to vote, become informed on issues pertinent to the politics of the state and country in which they live, then vote. It is a good thing that the university is encouraging this.

However, we were uncertain of the exact legitimacy of encouraging students to sign up to vote in North Carolina, as they should most likely be registering in their own states. This year’s orientation theme of political awareness is one of the best to date. We’re glad to see that new students are getting into the spirit of participation and open dialogue.

We hope that they’ll keep in mind that the art of political discourse should remain positive and respectful. In fact, learning how to listen to others’ opinions and thoughts and explaining your own clearly and respectfully is what college is all about. While it seems that the rest of the people in the country are not above bitter and negative conversations with people they don’t agree with, we think that college is the place for higher thinking.

We hope that lots of students get involved with politics. After all, citizenship is more than simply paying taxes and checking a box at the polls.