After asking some of my friends how many presidential candidates they could name, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were usually the first and only names they were able to come up with.

“Wait, does Jon Stewart and that other guy count?” one of my genius friends actually asked.

That’s when it occurred to me that there are probably plenty of people on campus like myself who care more about Coach’s new spring line of handbags (which is quite impressive I must say) than who our next leader will be.

Sure, there are students who spend their Saturday nights researching presidential candidates and their platforms.

And then there is that group of people who think John Edwards is just the guy on TV who can contact your deceased grandmother.

Wherever you stand between these two extremes, the bottom line is people who take the time to find out about the candidates are the ones who will be informed voters. And the others won’t and may never be.

It’s easy to feel like your one vote won’t matter, but there have been many close elections throughout history which prove otherwise, such as the 1960 election when Kennedy defeated Nixon by 0.2 percent of popular votes and, more recently, the very close election between Bush and Gore in 2000.

Instead of sleeping in all afternoon, take some time on a Saturday or Sunday and learn something about the candidates.

Not only is it important to vote in the presidential elections, but how many Kent State students do you think are registered to vote for Kent city issues? My guess is not many.

A lot of students are registered to vote in their hometown, which will do them no good in the eight or more months of the year when they are actually living in Kent.

So, stop complaining about the ridiculous noise ordinance or the lack of street lights and do something about it.

It’s completely our fault our voice isn’t represented in Kent because we choose not to take it to the polls.

Through our votes, we could be choosing the City Council — the people who had a hand in deciding the punishment you received for that night you swear you were “roofied” and got a public intoxication.

If every student voted in Kent, we could elect a council who would equally represent the students as well as the other fine residents of Kent.

Don’t let the 40-somethings who show up to vote every time show us up. We can make a difference in our town.

Our votes can politely say, “If you and your family don’t want to hear drunk people staggering home, don’t live a block away from campus. Thank you.”

Jessica Lumpp is a sophomore magazinejournalism major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].