The Political Science Student Association (PSSA) discussed ways students can be more involved in political issues locally and nationally at its first monthly meeting Tuesday.
PSSA is a student organization for all majors focused on allowing students to speak on political issues today.
“We can’t have a government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’ without the people,” said Lindsay Nelson, president of PSSA.
Nelson emphasized that students and U.S. citizens need to use the democratic practices available to them, such as writing to a local representative or senator.
“They pay so much attention to what we do, we need to pay attention to them,” Nelson said.
The letters should be short, to the point and conclude with the action you want your representative or senator to take, according to Nelson.
“Contacting your representative is the easiest and best way of having a say in what your government is doing,” Nelson said. “It’s democracy at work.”
Letters to your district’s representatives can be more influential than voting, according to Nelson.
“It takes one person at a time to change things,” Nelson said
With presidential elections around the corner, Nelson also told PSSA members to know who the candidates are, their platform, and to vote.
She also emphasized getting information from other sources and making sure that people acquire knowledge of current issues that affect them.
“There’s other ways to find out what is going on besides the mouths of politicians,” Nelson said. “When the citizenry dumbs down it’s easier for the government to take control.”
The REAL ID Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, current real-estate issues and tuition increases for next year were all acknowledged during the meeting, and PSSA’s response, again, was to encourage people to write to their local representatives.
Future events organized by PSSA include: a health care forum with speakers from the political science department, other departments and possibly speakers from foreign countries; a voter fraud documentary presentation; and a carpool organization for an Iraq War protest on March 15.