New Energy Bill Raises the Clean Energy Stakes….

US Representatives Henry A. Waxman of California and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts have unveiled a draft of a rather ambitious bill that would provide incentives for states to move away from coal dependency, among other things.

While the nuts and bolts of the Waxman-Markey bill, also known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), mirror President Obama’s proposals to move the country away from its dependency on fossil fuels, it sets a higher standard for capping greenhouse emissions by 2020. The Waxman-Markey bill requires that emissions be reduced 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, while Obama’s plan calls for a 14 percent reduction by 2020. According to a plain-English breakdown of the bill on NYTimes.com, both would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases by roughly 80 percent by 2050.

Waxman, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement that the measure would create jobs and provide a gradual transition to a more efficient economy.

“Our goal is to strengthen our economy by making America the world leader in new clean-energy and energy-efficiency technologies,” Waxman said.

Markey echoed Waxman’s sentiments on the bill stating, “This legislation will create clean energy jobs that can’t be shipped overseas, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and make America the global leader in energy technology. We will create jobs by the millions, save money by the billions, and unleash energy investment by the trillions,” said Chairman Markey, who held many hearings on the major issues in the bill. “Chairman Waxman and I will work with our colleagues to ensure that we are protecting American consumers and that our clean energy future helps all parts of the country.”

The ACES proposal, which currently lacks any Republican support, could not be making its debut at a rougher time. Not only are many Americans unsure of how to proceed when it comes to clean energy & climate control, but many elected officials are wavering on their stances as well. With the economy being at a touch-and-go state, and the cost of  “going green” far outweighing the immediate benefits, many politicians are criticizing the bill’s pushes towards a reliance on technologies that haven’t been invented or made readily available.

For example, the bill would require every region of the country to produce a quarter of its electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal by 2025. A number of lawmakers around the country, particularly in the Southeast, call that goal unrealistic because the natural resources and technology to meet it do not yet exist.

However, for states like Virginia, there is a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to moving away from its coal lifeline. The ACES includes $10 billion in new financing for the development of technology to capture and store emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, which currently produces half of the nation’s electricity.

Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA), honed in on that provision, noting that coal would remain a major part of the nation’s energy mix for decades to come.  While Boucher, like many of the VA politicians, isn’t expressing strong views either way on the bill or clean energy legislation itself, a number of progressive & environmentalist groups have spoke out in support of the draft.

Dr. Richard H. Moss, vice president for climate change at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), praised the 650-page document stating, “The American Clean Energy and Security Act…is a major first step toward a strong cap and trade bill that will cut emissions, jump-start a new clean energy economy, and strengthen the ability of the Obama administration to negotiate a fair and effective global climate deal this December in Copenhagen. This is a strong draft bill that addresses the key elements of a global solution to the climate crisis. We look forward to working with the Chairmen to make it even stronger prior to formal introduction.” [Read the full statement here]

The Energy and Commerce Committee will complete consideration of the legislation by Memorial Day. The preliminary schedule follows:

• Week of April 20: Energy and Environment Subcommittee Hearings
• Week of April 27: Energy and Environment Subcommittee Markup Period Begins
• Week of May 11: Full Energy and Commerce Committee Markup Period Begins

[Read the full text of the ACES bill here]

Life in a Commonwealth

If you type “Virginia” in to Google, here’s what you’ll find:

• The Commonwealth of Virginia is an American state on the Atlantic Coast.
• It is sometimes called the “Mother of Presidents” due to the fact that eight US Presidents were born here.
• If is geographically shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay.
• It’s state capital is Richmond, while it’s most heavily populated city is Virginia Beach.
• There are more than 7 million people in Virginia
• Slavery played a significant role in Virginia’s early economy and politics.
• It became a member of the 13 Colonies during the American Revolution &  joined the Confederacy during the Civil War.

What Google won’t tell you is that Virgina is a culturally diverse area that is just as homogenous as it is heterogenous, just as conservative as it is liberal and is struggling to find a balance somwhere to the right or left of moderate.

I recently took a position working as a field organizer for MoveOn.org. My mission, as I chose to accept it, was organizing MoveOn’s large volunteer base in Virgina. While I am far from an expert on the state of things in the commonwealth, I can say that life this side of the Mason-Dixon line is alot more interesting.

During my first few weeks of work, I’ve been speaking with a number of residents regarding the best ways to drive a strategic campaign around a clean energy economy. While the residents of NOVA (Northern Virginia) seemed to be more gun-ho for the task, those that I spoke with in SOVA (Southern VA) were in support of the issue, but not of the organizing.

After getting a quick lesson in SOVA’s coal history and the strong political ties to coal, many of the volunteers there seemed to be so disenchanted & disenfranchised that transitioning to a clean energy economy seemed less than feasible. These people have seen their retirement funds all but disintegrate, seen neighbors lose their jobs, family members be laid off and are struggling to make ends meet as the recession takes it toll on almost every labor oriented industry. While they are in support of transitioning to clean energy as a means of job creation, life in the heart of coal counties makes this option seem almost impossible.

“How can we shift away from our lifeline?” one volunteer asked me as we talked. “I know that this campaign means well, but these politicians have so much invested in this coal, they’re going start saying their investing in clean coal as a means to take that clean energy money the President is trying to give out and lining their pockets.”

I didn’t quite know how to respond to that question. The Mid-Westerner in me empathized with her story. Having grown up in a steel community and having seen politicians shape-shift the steel industry to fit almost every piece of legislation with a federal dollar strapped to it, I understood where she was coming from. But, the organizer in me wanted to reach out to her and combat her reluctance with empowerment.

The idea that we can make this change isn’t nearly enough. It is going to take work and effort. Through that combined effort, we can create 5 million jobs across the country. If we transition to a clean energy society, and away from fossil fuels and non-renewable resources, we can not only stabilize the economy but turn it around. The goal of MoveOn and its members is one that I believe in whole-heartedly.

While the dichotomy of the state poses interesting strategic advantages & disadvantages, the desire to shift the way things have always been could not be more evident. In the commonwealth, that may be all we need to make a change…

sasha.Kai

What’s your activism?

I’m going to be completely honest…I’ve been suffering from the worst case of writer’s block my creative genius has ever seen!

Not to mention, my complete and utter lack of motivation, coupled with a rapidly fleeting attention span and increased hectic life. But it’s a new year & I’m working on a better me, so it’s time to get back to my core and back to the things I love. That means…rekindling my love affair with the art of written words.

So, here it goes..

Lately, I’ve been struggling with determining my life path. I’ve always been my happiest when I’ve been able to sit down and channel my creativity into something media oriented. Whether it’s filming a movie, documentary, writing a press release, designing a logo or putting together an event from scratch, I have a very deep-rooted passion for media. However, my life experiences have drawn me towards political activism & social justice work.

Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t trade any of my experiences fighting for equality for anything in the world, but I’ve reached a point in my life where I need to feel fulfilled & social just work void of some type of creative expression isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you believe in God, or a higher-power, or whatever, then you’re probably familiar with the idea of predestination: the idea that a higher-power has laid out your path, and the paths of us all, in order to dictate history. And, if your familiar with predestination, then you’re probably also familiar with its free-will counterpart: the idea that people have the ability to execute their own choices, void of any predetermined occurrences.

If you’re a religious individual, then you’ve probably grappled with the idea of predestination vs. free-will. Is it one or the other? Well, Sasha thinks it’s both. Now, my beliefs aren’t founded in the numerous biblical scriptures that refer to either idea, but in the experiences that have come to shape my being. I feel as though there are two consecutive paths that individuals walk down as the move through life: the person we are called to be & the person we end up being. And no, those two things aren’t always the same. There are a lot of people walking around out here with unrecognized or underdeveloped potential (but that’s another blog entirely).

Throughout life, we move back & forth between these two paths until one, or perhaps a series of events occur, that push us to choose between the person we are called to be and inevitably, the individual we end up being. Right now, I’m at that crossroad.

Because I’m bright, articulate & have the innate ability to lead, I’ve always been thrust into leadership positions, even when I didn’t want to be involved. Because I feel I have a social responsibility to protect & help those who need it, I’ve always been involved in progressive work. But, because I love to write & create, I’ve always been drawn toward anything that allows me to be creative. Herein lies the dilemma.

Right now, I’ve got two AMAZING job opportunities.  One where I would be the Director of Communications for a non-profit that specializes in policy reform & justice issues. And, another as a community organizer for, what is perhaps, the biggest social justice network in the country. While each of these groups does phenomenal work, in my opinion. I’m faced with the dilemma of which path to venture down.

I was mulling it over with a friend of mine who is interested in getting into the political career path, & she struck up a conversation that almost made me feel bad about wanting to move away from organizing and that line of work. But somewhere in between the “we need young people like you in this field” and the “but, don’t you want to do something meaningful with your life,” I had an epiphany; media is my activism.

The people that documented the Civil Rights Movement. The journalists that followed the 1960 election. The bloggers who break stories & push for more media accountability from the large, corporate moguls. They’re all activists.

By definition, an activist is an especially active, vigorous advocate of a cause. If media is what I’m passionate about. And telling the stories of these progressive people is where my path has led me, then how is combining the two not activism?

It seemed a little uncouth to my politically righteous friend, but to me, it made all the sense in the world. At the end of the day, I have to be happy with what I’m doing. I need to feel like this is where I want and need to be. Thus, upon completing my final interview tomorrow, let’s keep our fingers crossed that I get the position as the Director of Communications. I could quite possible want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything for myself.

So…my question to all of you out there in cyberspace is: what’s your activism? Where does your passion truley lie? And, if given the opportunity, would you follow your heart?

I’m a firm believer that when something is for you, it’s easy. Meaning, with the right amount of work, things happen because they’re supposed to happen. If it’s more of a struggle to stay than it would be to leave, is it really for you? Just some food for thought……

Sasha .kai.

Live from a battleground state….

The other day, one of my best friends asked me what the hell is going on in “country-ass Ohio?”

After watching a few rounds of CNN and other talking-head news networks, he was a little disheartend by the up-in-the-air sentiment of his neighboring state.

To be quite honest, I’m a little worried too.

While most of the urban epi-centers of Ohio are moving towards the Blue candidate. Most of those folks out in our rural farming communites are McCain/Palin all the way. To me, it really doesn’t make a difference. I refuse to believe that after 8 years with Bush, his distorted moral compass and lackluster policies, that any rational human being without a racial bias will vote for McCain.

On top of that, any woman who believes in equal rights and opportunity will allow themselves to be exploited by the GOP camp’s shoddy attempt to win over the Hilary supporters with Palin.

I’ve got faith in the American Electorate this year. I feel that for every anti-Obama supporter, there’s a new registered voter heading to the polls. During the primary season, I was a little more than discouraged as I treked around New York for Super Tuesday. I spent most of the day heading from college campus to college campus and the turn-out at the polls was dismal.

At SUNY BUffalo, less than 50 students voted at the on-campus polling location. The only glimmer of hope was the fact that a lot of people registered. So based on that, I believe that my generation will turn out in this election and vote for a change in the White House.

My mom always said that words give things power. I won’t even speak the chance of a McCain-Palin Administration into existence.

With every fiber of my being, I’m believing in Obama-Biden. And in the miniscule chance that something else occurs, I’ve got a job lined up in the UK.

We will see how things go tonight…..GO BLUE!!!!!

Being Black in America

CNN recently produced a special that was supposed to show America what it was like to “be Black in America.” Well…I’m not quite sure what it accomplished.

As a Black person in America, I was a little disappointed with CNN’s portrayal of the down-trodden, issue-ridden Black person. It was anticlimactic. But then again, I also came to the conclusion that “Black in America” wasn’t for me…it was produced for people who are not Black to try to understand the complicated experience that is being Black in America. However, it is something that cannot be summed up in a multi-part series.

To truly understand what it means to be Black in America, there’s a history that has to be understood. There’s a back story that has to be presented. Most importantly, there are psychological ramifications that have grown and festered within the Black community for years. To begin to try and explain these issues is beyond the scope of my original intent for this blog. But let’s just say, I was disappointed in CNN’s presentation of being Black in America.

The majority of my disappointment stems from the fact that being Black has become a novelty. It no longer has any meaning. The Black experience, slavery, our history and our culture have become so commercial, watered down and integrated, I’m beginning to think that we have forgotten our significance and role in the history of the US and the world.

Let’s look at how we are beginning to digress: Robert Downey, Jr. is in black face in a major Hollywood production. Hmm, let me think about this but weren’t black face shows considered derogatory? Why aren’t black people insulted? Oh, I know why, because Jesse Jackson is talking about Barack Obama’s nuts. So we’re totally oblivious to the fact that this movie is basically taunting black men. It doesn’t help that it’s a comedy (insert all types of bad impressions and over-acted stereotypes).

Robert Downey Jr. in black face

You know, this is the second time a White actor has played a Black person on film. Granted, Angelina Jolie wasn’t in black face in “A Mighty Heart,” but are you telling me that with all of the Black actresses in Hollywood, the producers couldn’t find anyone else to play that character? Thandi Newton? Halle Berry? Oh no, we’re just going to get Angelina Jolie and put her in a bad wig.

Seriously?! What is going on? But I’m supposed to be excited because Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee & CNN has chronicled what it’s like to be Black in America.

The fact of the matter is our experience in America is so vast, so broad, so individualized, it’s hard to define exactly what it is to be “Black in America.” We’re not all a group lost people trying to make it in the “White man’s society.” Some of us have actually found a great balance between being Black and functioning in America. We’ve been able to move past all the stereotypical images we’re bombarded with on a daily basis on what it means to be Black and that our entire culture is based on hip-hop (whatever that means.) But that movement comes from understanding what we have come from. Embracing our past to move forward into a better present. That journey comes through knowledge. That journey comes from self-definition & re-definition. As long as we’re looking to mainstream media to tell us what it means to be Black, we’re never going to take back our heritage.

One of my professors has this saying: Once an individual’s definition of himself becomes the same as that of the oppressor, then the oppressor can destroy that individual without physical stress on his part. That, my friends, is the nature of definition. It’s time to define, on OUR terms, what it means to be Black. This way, we know exactly that we’ll stand for and what we won’t. I’m sorry, but Robert Downey Jr. in black face is something that I just won’t stand for.

I know I might sound really cynical, but c’mon guys, we have got do to better. Where is our sense of community? When are we going to stop letting other people define how we see ourselves? When are we going to stand up and demand the respect we deserve? I have always been proud to be Black. I also know that my experience, the Black experience, is one filled with beauty, glory, pain, anguish and triumph. CNN can’t tell me what it means to be Black in America. CNN can’t tell you what it means to be Black in America. All CNN can do is show us its perception of Black people. With that being said, they don’t think too highly of us.

And since, “Tropic Thunder” is a minstrel show, Jesse Jackson is blasphemer and Barack Obama is the new messiah..I’m moving to Canada.

Save our homes!!!

I’ve been working with this non-profit organization for about 2 weeks now & have offically become an advocate for the home foreclousure crisis in Ohio.

I never realized how many people this situation is affecting until I started reviewing some stats and actually talking to people who are having their homes foreclosed on.

I remembered back when I was in middle school and my parents refinanced our house. The mortgage payment was pretty resonable for a few years and then the lender started talking about higher interest rates and balloon payments. I was too young to understand it then, but I really get it now. My parents would have had to pay almost $15,000, on top of their montly mortgage payment, to stay in a home that was barely worth $20,000. The problem is, my parents weren’t the only people who were going through this problem.

Across the country, millions of low-income and middle class Americans were starting to see the beginnings of what we have now come to call the “foreclosure crisis.” Now, some 10 years later, that it has started to hit the affluent people in the suburbs, it’s a CRISIS. Regardless of the politics involved, I want to help people save their homes.

I’m working with a non-profit organization called ESOP: Empowereing and Strengthing Ohio’s People. In a field where most organizations have a 30% to 40% success rate when it comes to getting a loan workout, or modification, ESOP is soaring above everyone else at 85%. Last year, we saved 1500 homes in Cleveland, and we’re anticipating to save another 5,000 this year. ESOP has expanded to include Warren/Youngstown, and I’m their new organizer in the area.

I must admit, it is quite depressing to drive through my old neighborhood and see the streets I grew up on littered with abandoned houses, vacant lots and unruly lawns. In some areas, there are three or four occupied houses on a street and everything else is vacant. These vacant homes have increased the number of illegal activities, crime and vermin. It truly makes me sick.

As I’m going out door-to-door and talking with people who live on these streets, they’ve all got the same issues. “We want the city to get rid of the vacant houses.” Or, “There are drug dealers working out of this empty house next door to me.” Some of these people have lived in their houses since the 1970s. They bought the house when the area was beautiful and booming, but now, after thousand of industrial jobs have left the area, they have no where to go. They can’t sell their house because no one wants to move in a house wedged in between five vacant ones. They don’t have the money to move, or some people just don’t have anywhere else to go.

ESOP helps these people. Working with various neighborhood groups, we’re going to get the state to pass legislation to save homes and housing. In the past few weeks, I’ve met about two dozen people from various legislative bodies, governmental agencies and non-profits, who are all working to fight this fight. It’s a true grassroots movement, and I’m excited to be involved.

It’s a forced to be reckoned with and even though I couldn’t have helped my parents save their home, I’m going to help several thousand people save theirs. To me, this is more gratifying than anything else I could be doing right now…

I didn’t mean to say that…

Whether she’s drawing attention for opening her legs or her mouth, Sharon Stone never ceases to disappoint the media…

In the red-carpet interview on May 22, Stone, who was about to enter a fundraising gala for the American Foundation for AIDS Research, of which she was a host, told a journalist: “I’m not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And the earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you’re not nice that bad things happen to you?

The comments created a stir in the Chinese news media and on blogs. Due to the controversy, Dior quickly retracted Stone’s modeling contract and removed her from advertising in China, fearing a backlash. Dior’s Shanghai office issued a statement in which Stone was quoted apologizing: “I am deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people.”

So now, Stone is playing politics trying to clean up the can of worms she’s opened. Clearly, pissing of the Chinese is not allowed. This trend of apologizing for comments has been quite popular in the media now-a-days.

I think nobody has more practice at it than presidential-hopeful Barack Obama. After the media frenzy over Rev. Wright’s comments, the vultures are back for more, and Obama is apologizing yet again.

After Rev. Michael Pfleger, a white minister known as “Chicago’s renegade priest” for his liberal social activism in the city’s black community, delivered a very critical, albeit truthful commentary from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ, the same church where sermons by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright came under scrutiny from critics who called them anti-American and racially divisive.

Pfleger, pastor of predominantly black St. Sabina’s Catholic Church, who fiercely defended Wright even as Obama eventually rejected his support, stated he wanted to “expose white entitlement and supremacy wherever it raises its head.” Pfleger mocked Sen. Hillary Clinton for appearing to weep at a campaign appearance before the New Hampshire primary in January, saying she was crying because “there’s a black man stealing my show.”

“She always thought, ‘This is mine. I’m Bill’s wife, I’m white and this is mine,’” Pfleger said. Now Obama has denounced and rejected another supporter in order to save his political ass.

I’m really getting sick of this. To quote my sister, “Why should he have to apologize for something he didn’t say?” I totally agree. Nobody is attacking Hillary for poorly articulated, Manchurian-esque reason to stay in the race because “Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June.” Quite to the contrary, they’re attacking Obama, my my how the tides have changed.

We’ve gone from Sen. Clinton complaining about how she’s constantly attacked by the media, to her fueling the attack on Obama.

As much as I hate to say it, I’m quite disappointed in the American people. Are we really that oblivious that we can allow polarized media to dictate our thoughts and influence our opinions. Between Fox News and its anti-Obama sentiment, and the rest of the media treading in the waters of sensationalism, Obama doesn’t stand a chance.

The Obama Files…

SNL did a great little cartoon about Obama, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Check it out here!

The second black president (and I’m not talking about Obama)

For a long time, I’ve been told that the only reason I like Barack Obama is because I’m black.

For a long time, I’ve also been told that Bill Clinton was the first “black” president.

As perplexing as this paradigm is, it’s a superlative that worries me as we rapidly approach the general election and have the possibility of electing the second black president—-Hillary.

It’s no secret that most African-Americans have heavily favored Sen. Clinton from the beginning. Afterall, her husband has been deemed the “first black president” by many blacks. Under Bill’s administration, it’s common belief that many blacks experienced great income increases as well.

So when it came to securing the coveted black vote, Hillary deployed none other than Bill to areas heavily populated by black voters to remind people of the good times they experienced during his time in office.

The sad reality is that only blacks who benefited from first Clinton Administration were affluent blacks. In 2005, Melissa Harris-Lacewell co-authored an article in the Journal of Black Studies. In this article Lacewell analyzed five national surveys from 1984 through 2000. The data shows that nearly a third of black Americans held false understandings of black economic conditions during the Clinton years.

By the time Clinton left office, many African-Americans incorrectly believed that blacks were doing better economically than whites. In the ’80s, barely 5 percent of blacks believed blacks were economically better off than whites. By 2000, nearly 30 percent of African-American respondents believed that blacks were doing better economically than whites. This belief is simply wrong.

The reference to Bill Clinton as “black” comes from his private sexual encounters made public and his “I did not inhale” confessions. These items create a superficial facade of what it means to be “black.” And, as Clinton performed “blackness,” the real black people got poorer. On the Slate.com, Lacewell says “The poorest African-Americans experienced an absolute decline in income, and they also became poorer relative to the poorest whites. The richest African-Americans saw an increase in income, but even the highest-earning blacks still considerably lagged their white counterparts.”

So now, more blacks are migrating towards the Obama side of things.

In December and January Post-ABC News polls, Clinton led Obama among African Americans by 60 percent to 20 percent. In the new poll, Obama held a narrow advantage among blacks, 44 percent to 33 percent. The shift came despite four in five blacks having a favorable impression of the New York senator.

African Americans view Clinton even more positively than they see Obama, but in the time since he began his campaign, his approval rating rose significantly among blacks. In the latest poll, 70 percent of African Americans said they had a favorable impression of Obama, compared with 54 percent in December and January.

But, with so many big black names supporting Sen. Clinton, Rev. Al Sharpton questioning Obama’s blackness and his plans for the “urban agenda,” Clinton’s wins in Ohio and Texas and the momentum of Bill’s blackness, Hillary could very well be elected as the second black president of the United States.

Vote or Die

Sean “P.Diddy” Combs is back with his infamous “Vote or Die” campaign.

In efforts to mobilize my generation, hip hop heroes, like Diddy, Russell Simmons and LL Cool J, have expressed how important it is to vote. Just in time for Super Tuesday, Diddy himself addressed his fans and the public via his DiddyTV channel on You Tube to once again try and convince young voters to get out a make their voice heard.

I’m hoping that his efforts will produce a much bigger turnout from the 18-25 year old generation, but the experiences I’ve had in the last few days indicate otherwise.

I spent Super Tuesday in Buffalo, N.Y. I watched as hundreds of people packed the polls to cast their votes. Elected officials, the working mom, the working dad, grandfathers, school teachers…they all came out to cast their votes, however, the one group that didn’t show up were students.

At the University at Buffalo, about 150 students were registered to vote at the on campus polling location, but fewer than 100 showed up to cast their ballots. Now, there are about 18,000 undergrads at UB, so to me, those numbers just don’t match up.

The on-campus polling location was located at the end of a hallway in the basement of the Student Union. There were no signs, no advertisements or reminders to vote. There were signs, however, for the campus blood drive that was going on on the third floor and the Mardi Gras celebration on the first floor. After speaking with Peter Grollitsch, president of the UB Student Association, I realized that there have been no voter registration drives or informational events to inform students about voting.

“We didn’t do any voter registration, but we do have the literature available for students in our office,” said Grollitsch. “Some freshman students have come in a picked up voter registration forms, but what they’ve done with it after that, I don’t know.”

Thanks to a lack of effort on the side of student government, UB students had to fight through the smoke and mirrors of Civics 101 all on their own.

For freshman pharmacy major Lauren St. Fleur, a little guidance on voting procedure would have been helpful.

“I’ve been going around by myself trying to get information about what to do. I wish they would have had a seminar or something to get people together and explain how to vote,” St. Fleur said. “I’ve just been walking around this whole big campus trying to find some answers. I just registered today because I was walking by here and saw the sign, so I decided to stop in.”

The problem is that no one has taken the time to explain the rules and regulations of voting to many people in my generation.

“Everyone talks about ‘vote or die,’” said Ondia Butler, a junior marketing major at Kent State. “The problem is that it’s not that simple. Yeah, I’ll register to vote, but what happens after that? What if I’m from out of state? Where do I get an absentee? Do you know? Because I sure don’t.”

And those same sentiments go for many people in my age bracket. With all these questions and very few people to answer them, many students have become disenfranchised voters. We simply don’t show up because we don’t understand what’s going on, or have been turned away by the system.

I worry now that Diddy is back in our collective face hooting and hollering about VOTE OR DIE. It really is more complicated than that. I hope those aren’t our only options because my generation is dead when it comes to the polls.