Twenty-nine days.
Twenty-nine days until the votes are cast. Twenty-nine days until the di falls for one candidate or another.
As Election Day looms one month away, students are studying for the voting booths on November 6 as well as their midterm exams. Freshman Emily Collins cast her vote for the first time in a primary election in Georgia this summer. She will also send an absentee ballot back to her home state from Indiana to participate in the general election.
"It was very exciting to be a part of something, to know my voice was being heard in something bigger," Collins said. "It was exciting to do something small that was actually something really big."
As she prepares to finally participate in an election, Collins said she watched last week's presidential debate with a more attentive eye.
"I thought it was definitely interesting to see President Obama, because it was my freshman year of high school when Obama was elected," she said. "It was interesting watching him now compared to then."
Breaking out of the cycle of college life to stay informed about the election is sometimes difficult but necessary, Collins said.
"It's really hard being a college freshman, you kind of forget [the election] is going on," Collins said. "Being kept in your college life, it's hard to remember what's going on in the real world. Keep in touch. Keep checking the news."
In order to encourage students to follow election issues, College Democrats and College Republicans will co-host a watch for the vice presidential debate Thursday at 9:30 p.m. in the LaFortune Ballroom.
College Democrats president Camille Suarez said she was pleased with the response to the bipartisan watch of last week's presidential debate, also hosted alongside the College Republicans.
"Personally, my issue isn't whether or not people vote Democrat," Suarez said. "It's whether people vote. I think a lot of people don't vote because they think their vote doesn't count. The choices that politicians make now affect us later."
Students need to actively invest themselves in the political life of the country, Suarez said.
"I think we do understand [election issues], but it's always easier to be indifferent," she said. "I know it's easy for me to be indifferent. I have to push myself to vote in every election.
