On Monday, Oct. 22 students and faculty gathered to examine what is at stake for De Anza College students and the community in the Nov. 6 election.
De Anza President Brian Murphy urged those eligible to vote to do so, and expounded on what would happen if they don’t.
“With the Citizen’s United Act and the growing inequality in distribution of wealth, it is more crucial than ever before that we make our voices heard,” Murphy said. “We have a profoundly dysfunctional democracy controlled by media and corporate interests of astonishing power. The only counterbalance to this, the only way it works, is to vote.”
Cynthia Kaufman, faculty director of the Institute of Community and Civic Engagement, said young people are fooled into thinking it is not politically important for them to vote.
“We have become disillusioned, “Kaufman said. “What we don’t realize is that all of this is deliberate voter suppression. With the current incarceration rates, the war on drugs, and unfair ID laws, it is easy to see who those in power are trying to discourage from voting.”
DASB senator Cynthia Ouandji also commented on the importance of voting.
“Sometimes we forget the connection between those that make the laws and those they are making the laws for,” she said.
“We all complain that education is getting expensive, we all complain that we want to get paid more, we all say that we don’t like our current prison system. Point being, we all have opinions, and all the issues we care about are on the ballot.
“Not everyone can go to a protest, not everyone can stand around signing petitions, and not everyone can go to marches. But everyone can do one simple thing that can make a difference – they can vote.”
Nicky Yuen, a political science faculty member, talked numbers.
“There will be a $6 million hole in our budget if Prop 30 does not pass this election,” he said. “That means a total loss of 28,000 student seats at De Anza.
“On the other hand, if Measure D passes, 40,000 workers in San Jose will have on average an extra $4,000 that goes back into the local community and boosts the economy.”
Yuen continued to encourage the audience.
“Every generation reinvents itself,” he said. “Every generation says ‘What kind of a society can we be?’ It’s our turn right now.”