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Students consider various cultural perspectives in Professor Eddie Madril’s Ethnic Studies class. (Image courtesy )
TUHSD approves new ethnic studies course despite curriculum concerns
Michael SetonMarch 28, 2024

A new ethnic studies course will be introduced in the 2024-25 school year after a recent four to one vote by the Tamalpais Union High School...

Boldly standing out, an outdated air system contrasts the nature of Redwoods campus.
The Impact of the potential ‘NO’ on Measure A
Emily Hitchcock, Web Designer • March 28, 2024

As the clock ticks down to see if Measure A will pass, its current ‘Yes’ count is at 53.8 percent, with 55 needed to pass. An estimated 50...

The great divide of special education: the 504 plan
The great divide of special education: the 504 plan
Nina HowardMarch 28, 2024

As of 2018, up to one in four students at elite colleges were considered legally disabled due to mental health issues, learning differences or...

Info-overload: Making sense of what is known

 

They say that every vote counts. One person can be the change. A single vote can be the difference. However, how can one really make an informed decision with so many sources of information? As the political campaign is beginning to heat up, with Mitt Romney officially accepting the nomination as the Republican candidate against President Obama, political ads and are rhetoric are strewn across every street corner and TV station.

With so much information out there, one would think that people have an abundance of resources to pull from in order to make an informed decision about who would make a better president. Yet, as my 18th birthday approach’s this October, I find myself completely clueless in the political game. Never before have the political debates, ads, or addresses directly contributed to what would be my one vote.

Flipping mindlessly through TV stations, with just a click of the up arrow I go from seeing inspirational images of Obama with the troops, the poor, and children, to dingy photos portraying Obama as a dictator enforcing ObamaCare.

How are we supposed to go about deciphering all of this information on our own? Will I, or anyone else, really make an educated decision?

Parents and family members offer a variety of information and ideas, but most of them have very formulated opinions from years of political activism. Finding a non-biased opinion about political candidates is near to impossible.

To make keeping up with politics even harder, our world continues to revolve around social media, which makes material readily available by the minute. Keeping up with information becomes nearly impossible.

Even if one is able to keep up with the ever-circulating fountain of information, how does he or she separate the truth from media nonsense?

I am granted a right to vote, which I will use, wisely as possible, but at the end of the day, am I ready to make a decision?

As my registration date fast approaches I’m torn between which is the best option for me.

It seems that either way I am letting down my country in some fashion.

If I vote and make an ignorant choice, I am contributing to a deficient leader for America. But on the flip side if I choose to forego my vote, I am giving up a right that many people around the world aren’t able to have.

We fought and are always continuously fighting for our right to vote. We all must make the effort to vote and even more so to be informed voters. Despite all of the bias information in the media, if one takes the time to look and research beyond what is being thrown right into our faces via the media, there is an abundance of organizations dedicated to delivering non-biased and important information to its viewers.

PewReasurch and Nation League of Women voters are both examples of non-biased websites that provide readers with informative data and research about political issues.

Now its up to you and me to become an educated voter

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About the Contributor
Rachael Palaima, Author