Students, faculty explore reasons not to vote

Reasons not to vote in the upcoming election were the focus of a recent forum sponsored by OrangeBand.

"There are a number of ways people justify not voting, and this will be an opportunity to explore those reasons and see if we agree on the matter," said Kai Degner (‘03), founding member of OrangeBand.

The organization held a voter registration drive last week.

William Knorpp, OrangeBand advisor, led the forum of students. He opened up the discussion by demonstrating a formula that determines the probability that an individual’s vote will be decisive in an election.

The formula concludes that the probability one vote will make a difference is very low. Despite this evidence, Knorpp said he still will vote.

"It may be a civic duty to vote whether it counts or not," Knorpp said.

Knorpp’s introduction opened up discussion about the propaganda surrounding voting. Many students expressed their frustrations with all the emphasis on voting if it would not affect the election.

One student commented that Americans could send a better message to politicians and make more of a statement if voter participation decreased rather than increased.

The students also disliked the disparities between voting and implementation of policy.

However, a few students voiced their reasons for voting.

"I came here to see if my mind would change, but I can’t just throw away the privilege to vote," junior Andrianne Konstas said. She asked the group what else could be effective in a democracy besides voting.

Knorpp encouraged students to "get out and get active" through protesting or other acts of peaceful demonstration.

Degner said, "The theme to anything is how many people are protesting or participating."

OrangeBand plans to hold a more publicized debate for students in October, featuring those who strongly encourage people to vote and those who do not.