If they haven't already, those paying attention to Blacksburg local politics will notice two young candidates vying for Blacksburg Town Council votes.
Michael Sutphin, 24, is a writer with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a 2006 Tech communication graduate. Bryce Carter, 20, will be a senior majoring in humanities, science, and environment. Both will attempt to represent nontraditional town council demographics: youth and recent status as a Tech student.
The question is whether they should.
Some Blacksburg natives refer to the students as a tide that ebbs and flows. This hardly makes them sound like integrated members of the larger Blacksburg community. So, is it really fair for students or recent graduates to take up as much as two-fifths of the decision-making body for the town?
Consider that voters aged 18 to 29 have steadily increased their voter turnout and more than half of the demographic participated in the election last November. On Monday, Tech passed the Climate Action Commitment resolution, a plan with its roots in the student-led environmental coalition. The college-aged and recently graduated are getting more and more accomplished.
During a time of economic crisis hurting small communities and raising student expenses, it may not just be fair for Tech youth to be represented in the Blacksburg town council, it may be necessary.
If Sutphin and Carter's participation in the Town Council race demonstrates anything, it's that the disengaged college student stereotype is increasingly inaccurate.
A growing number of Tech students and alumni come to identify more with their adopted Blacksburg community than with their hometowns. And, for the many students who pay rent and support the downtown economy, Blacksburg may be the closest thing to a home that they have.
So, for all of those who are eligible to vote in Blacksburg this November, and especially to those students who registered as Montgomery County residents, pay attention to what these candidates promise to do. not only for current students and young Blacksburg professionals, but for Blacksburg as a whole.
Both candidates reference bringing the university community and the town together in their talking points and, should they get elected, they would succeed best by considering native citizens' needs equally with those of Tech students. Because with more representation, comes more responsibility.
The editorial board is composed of Sara Mitchell, Phillip Murillas, Thandiwe Ogbonna, Daniel Lin, and Geri Roberts.
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Bring the university community and the town closer together?? Are they going to propose we invite townies to house parties or make them feel more welcome at TOTS or Sharkeys?? I'm not really sure how far apart the university community and Blacksburg are now. I mean Virginia Tech is in Blacksburg. It doesn't take a genius to realize that most of the businesses in Blacksburg would shut down without the VT population. I think the town and university are linked pretty well as it is.
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well, i think most townies are older and their interests probably lie in not wanting the partying going on in residential areas, for one. I''ve been here 5 years and I've graduated but that's just my assumption, and if its true, townies and students have a common interest - lower the drinking age. Think about it - allowing students to drink downtown could decrease the amount of parties in residential areas. This should be on the top of each candidate's platform. Maybe City Counsel can't lower the drinking age, but they could pull an El Paso and call on Congress to debate it.
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