Young Voters?
I have been following the news about the upcoming Democratic Party presidential debate very closely because I would love nothing more than to be able to attend the event. As a 22-year-old recent graduate of the College of Charleston, I could be lumped into the category of excited, hopeful young people who feel passionate about our country’s next presidential election. It is extremely unwise and unfair to reserve the vast majority of the tickets for those members of the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “Yellow Dog Club” who pay at least $120 a year. Having just begun my first full-time job one month ago, I do not have the money to join the “Club” and receive a ticket to the event.
My friends and I — current students and recent grads extremely interested in next year’s presidential election — must settle for the chance to be randomly chosen in a drawing for the only 50 tickets not reserved for donors. To hold the event on a college campus (the Citadel) and within mere miles of an even larger liberal arts college and not reserve tickets for students and alumni is preposterous. Politicians keep saying that young people will be vital in the upcoming election, and yet we are being excluded from an event where we can educate ourselves about the candidates, get to know them on a personal level, and get excited about the election.
I will try to volunteer for the event, but if I am unable to do so I’ll have to settle with watching the telecast from my apartment, 1.5 miles away.
Erica Bondy
Charleston
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