From rock the vote to f**k the vote Students don’t plan to cast ballots By JONATHAN GIBSON Ranger Reporter
Something new brewing at AC
a commonality with AC.” Ranger Reporter “Palace Coffee is Voted America’s Best proud to help create Coffeehouse 2013-14, a space within AC’s Palace Coffee will soon walls that will enrich campus and partner with Amarillo the further their vision for College to provide an the success of their on-campus coffee shop students,” Burns said. for students. Palace won the At the Oct. 25 bid out of a group of meeting, AC’s Board of Regents voted for multiple vendors. With the locally owned and student success being operated coffee shop just as important to to establish its presence them as sales, they set on campus. After some themselves apart from renovations, the Vice the rest. “Palace makes President of business affairs Steve Smith great coffee, but more expects the coffee shop importantly they share to be fully operational our mission to help succeed,” no later than the start of students the 2017 fall semester Smith said. “They want to be a part of that in the Badger Den. “We had some success at Amarillo great proposals from College.” Burns said he looks local coffee vendors,” forward to providing Smith said. “When we considered the an additional gathering economics of the space for the AC proposals and read the community. Logan Nelson, visions to create a space for our students and president of the AC staff to meet, study and Student Government collaborate, we knew Association, is just as that Palace Coffee excited for the space was the right choice on campus, even as and would be a great a noncoffee drinker herself. partner.” “This will be great Patrick Burns, because so many of our owner and founder of Palace Coffee, looks students go off campus forward to providing a to meet for coffee,” gathering place for the she said. “This will AC community, stating give them an excellent that after renovations, reason to stay on the on-campus shop campus, to gather right will look and feel like here to study, meet with their other locations in faculty or just hang Canyon, Downtown, out.” Palace offers many and in the Summit options aside from Shopping Center. “It has always been a coffee, as well as focus of ours to create Nelson’s choice of hot spaces for community,” cocoa. “I know people are Burns said. “Our new tired of hot drinks from location at Amarillo vending machines and College will be no different. As we look at will enjoy Palace being our partnership, we feel here,” Nelson said. By LIZ MOORE
Disengaged, disillusioned, disinterested and sometimes even disgusted, many millennials say the 2016 presidential election is prompting them to avoid the polls. A large percentage of voters, ages 18-24 report they are choosing not to vote. B e c a u s e m a n y perceive they have no stake in fiscal or political matters, s t u dents say they are alienated by the political process. “I don’t really care enough to vote,” Ryan Cotten, a mass media major, said. Brian Farmer, a government professor, said he is not surprised that millennials are disinterested in the election. “Younger people don’t have much of a say in what goes on in government and politics, as far as not owning businesses, not being married with children,” said Farmer. “There’s a lot of issues that come up as you get older that make you feel like it’s more important to deal with those things.” Along with platforms that are of no interest to young people, come a myriad of excuses not to vote. Life simply can get in the way of not making it to the polls. “They’re working and studying, so there’s the time factor. They’re busy,” said Farmer. Celeste Stork, a business major, said she might vote if she finds the time. “If I get around to it I’ll vote. I’m really not sure,” she said. Engineering major Jonathan Becerra said he never got around to
registering to vote, even though he thinks voting is important. “I don’t have time.” Another reason
students avoid the polls is their negative attitudes about politics. Although voting isn’t a high priority for many students, Farmer believes they can and should make change happen. “Costs of college have gone up, up, up, and part of it is that the states don’t want to spend the money. So, if you’re a college student I think you should be voting for the party that favors more money in education. I’m amazed at people’s inability to vote their own interest,” Farmer said.
they feel uncomfortable voting for what they call the “lesser of two evils.” “I don’t plan on voting because I only see a lose-lose scenario between both candidates,” said Stetson Smith, mass a media major. “Sadly, I do not see any positive outcome and find this election a chaotic popularity contest between what some are trying to justify as one side being less evil and ignorant than the other.” Unlike his peers, Colton Nomelli, an education major, said he plans on voting. “I definitely think it’s important. I think it’s ignorant when people say it’s not important to vote - how do you expect things to change to the way you want it if you’re not going to do anything about it?” Barbra Walker, a mass media major, called students who don’t vote “lazy.”
“For a lot of us, it’s our first presidential election to vote and we have a chance to make a difference,” Walker said. “We’re going to
have to be dealing with this person for the next four years, so a lot is going to happen in our lives,” said Megan Ferguson, a biology major. “It’s going to affect us more and more as time goes on.” Larry Adams, a government professor, agreed, stressing the need for young people to head to the polls. “I think it would be critical for them to vote.Today that demographic is such a large proportion of the voting population, and they could actually have a large effect on the outcome of the election.” “Students are disillusioned and don’t believe that the process is going to do anything good for either the country as a whole or for them in particular, but you do have a voice, and your voice counts,” Adams said. Adams also said that many young people do not realize they have significant political power. “If enough students voted, it could change the outcome of the election, and I don’t think students believe that. “What they need to do is look at the overall picture and get out and vote,” Adams said.
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Clarissa Clifford, a biology major, said, “You’re choosing between a crook and a bigot.” Some students said
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