This morning, poll workers will arrive at multiple schools, places of worship, the library and the community center in Blacksburg to partake in the democratic process. Candidates and their volunteers will bring yard signs, stickers and campaign literature to the polling places. And voters will select on a touch screen which candidate they believe will best represent the people while in office.
But today is not just any Election Day. It is an opportunity to make history in Blacksburg.
For the first time, the town council and the gubernatorial election are in sync. Many students who would have been preparing for finals, packing or heading home for the summer during the May election will be making a trip to the polls today.
We hope that the change in election schedule will enfranchise students and young professionals not only because we are the only undergraduate student and the only recent graduate at Virginia Tech in the running, but also because young people should have a say in the town’s decisions. Even though Virginia Tech students have made up about half of the town’s population since the school’s founding in 1872, not a single student has ever sat on the Blacksburg Town Council. A town council member — or two — with close ties to the university would be able to bridge the divide between town and campus.
We envision a Blacksburg where locals understand the tremendous talent and creativity that students bring to the town and students realize their real impact on the community at large. We are not two communities — we are one. The Town of Blacksburg and Tech must work together to create a more vibrant downtown, use new technologies and creative approaches to local governance, and ensure that we have a sustainable future that meets our community’s long-term needs.
For too long, students and young professionals have lived, worked and studied in town without representation on the Blacksburg Town Council. Let’s change that. Find your ID or voter registration card, look up your polling location, and make a trip to the polls before 7 p.m. today. You might just make history in Blacksburg.
Bryce Carter
senior
humanities, science & environment major
town council candidate
Michael Sutphin
tech alumnus
communication, ‘06
town council candidate
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This is what gives politician's a bad name, "not only because we are the only undergraduate student and the only recent graduate at Virginia Tech in the running, but also because young people should have a say in the towns decisions."
You state a carefully worded truth without telling the whole story. True, Bryce is the only undergrad and Michael the only recent grad. But two CURRENT grad students, Greg and Krisha are also running. Why were they not mentioned? Do those current students have less close ties to the university?
Greg is in alumni relations, a position in which his very job is to form a bridge between alumni young and old, and the town. Krisha has lived in this town for over 25 years and now attends classes here in Urban Affairs and Planning, a far more qualified resume to bridge the gap between town and gown than either Bryce or Michael. Be intellectually honest with the students or you don't deserve their vote!
Instead of, "For too long, students and young professionals have lived, worked and studied in town without representation on the Blacksburg Town Council" what you mean to say is, "vote for us because we want to win." If you honestly concerned yourselves with student representation, you'd have included Krisha and Greg. That you didn't proves only that you don't truly believe in the reasons you cite.
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If politicians telling you to vote for them and not their competitors is intellectually dishonest, then we are in a lot of trouble, buddy.
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i'll only vote for you if you have a tv commercial and a fifteen foot ad! JUST KIDDING! Best of luck to Michael and Bryce.
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Don't forget 15 foot ads probably paid for by developers that are hundreds of miles away!
Sounds pretty local to me! NOT!
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Since you told me you are the right choice, then you obviously aren't.
You won't get my vote.
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"Since you told me you are the right choice, then you obviously aren't."
Are you kidding me? What do you think elections are about? Brilliant thinkers like yourself, Chris, are why many people have lost faith in our electoral system.
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It was satirical for the fact that politicians are all politicians and none of thme deserve the office they are getting because they all get there by lying to voters, telling them whatever they want.
Sorry I voiced my opinion about politics in a way that was too hard for you...
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