What grade are you in this year?

I’m a sophomore.

Given this time of year with the midterm election, what’s your opinion on young people like us voting?

Well, I think it’s important for young people to vote, their voice needs to be heard too. I don’t know, I think it needs to be more easily accessible for younger people to be able to vote.

In what ways?

Just setting up more places to register for students, making it easier. Maybe, on campus, having an actual day they devote to registering to vote.

Why do you think it’s important for all of us to vote?

Well, it’s the only way you get your voice heard if you want something to change.

What do you think is the biggest thing that needs to be changed right now?

Well, that’s a good question. I don’t want to get too much into my political affiliation, but I do lean more liberal and I am not satisfied with the current administration. Aside from that, there’s nothing personally that I have any kind of feel towards right now that are really directly affecting me, but it does affect people that I know.

What about people who feel like they shouldn’t vote because they don’t know enough about what’s going on in the world?

I mean, yeah, there’s also other issues like, I don’t think everyone necessarily knows who is running for district court and who is a good sheriff, you know?

How do you think they should get to know what’s going on better, if they’re not very
involved in politics?

The information is out there. There are websites and stuff that help you know what’s happening in your state. There was this good political website that I just saw recently. It was an unbiased website and it tells you pretty much everyone who is running for midterms, who’s running in your state and what their affiliation is. It gets your answers from a survey and it tells you who leans more towards what your views are.

Do you think our campus here at UNCW should make a bigger deal about voting and
encourage people?

I definitely think they should encourage people. Aside from that like I said, making it easier for people to register possibly on campus and having like a day devoted to registering. You know, actually having people out there asking, ‘Hey are you registered?’ or ‘Would you like to register? Well, we can sign you up here and this is where you can register.’

As a sophomore, do you know what you’re majoring in?

I’m majoring in computer science.

Oh, cool. What do you want to do with that?

Hopefully, go into either web development of some sort of. I’m majoring in computer science with a focus in digital arts. So maybe something in digital arts.

Who’s your biggest influencer out there being a computer science major?

I don’t really have any computer science idols I’d say. There’s no one I can really think of so I’m not sure.

Lastly, what is one word of encouragement or inspiration to give someone?

Let’s just say that your vote is your only voice in our current government. If you didn’t vote, then I guess you really don’t have much of a reason to complain about anything unless you participated.