OPINION: Exercise your rights

By Jake Zabski

Growing up in a household dominated by a strong sense of pride for my Egyptian American heritage and family immigrant roots has made me the person I am today. My mom was born in Cairo and she emigrated to America with my grandparents when she was just two years old. They were escaping a rising unstable and corrupt government that was slowly getting rid of personal freedoms and taking away voices through government watchdogs. My grandfather, who ironically was a Communication & Media professor (my major) in Egypt, had government officials sit in on his lectures to make sure he wasn’t speaking ill on the politics of the time. He finally had enough and moved his family to Connecticut to ensure a better life for his children and to gain his freedom back.

I recently had a conversation with my grandparents before I left for the semester about our current state of the world, and how we can do better. I wanted to hear from them because of their immense experience and their own personal struggles with freedom. Through this conversation, they inspired me to think about the millions of people worldwide who do not have the same rights we have in America, with one of these rights being the freedom to vote. My grandparents have voted in every election since becoming citizens and made sure their voice was heard and valued. I think it’s easy for many Americans to say that they won’t vote because their vote doesn’t matter or because they don’t like the candidates, but this is simply a flawed statement. It bothers me that especially in an election we are dealing with now that people are just going to stand on the sidelines and not exercise their freedoms as American citizens. It frightens me that my grandparents who are getting older have more enthusiasm and pride in exercising their rights than younger Americans my age who do not want to exercise their rights or use their voice at all.

Immediately after this conversation, I went home and downloaded an absentee ballot application and mailed it into my respective voting office. While I might have not wanted to vote before because of various circumstances, I am now much more enthusiastic to vote. I want my voice to be heard, even if it is a small impact. I am excited to be able to partake in a potentially historic election and exercise my right that many Americans and my grandparents had to work so hard for. I want to encourage other college students to exercise your right to vote as well. If you haven’t registered to vote yet, this is your message from the universe. If you haven’t sent in your absentee ballot application or made plans for going home to vote, do those immediately. We cannot sit this one out.