Students, candidates Rock the Vote on SHSU campus

Several key state and local political figures visited the campus of Sam Houston State University on Tuesday to speak to students during the Walker County Democratic Party’s Rock the Vote political rally.

Attorney General candidate Sam Houston, Railroad Commissioner Steve Brown, Justice of the Peace candidate Cade Reece and City Council candidate Kendall Scudder came to inform students of pressing political issues and how important it is for students’ voices to be heard.

While the number of college students who go out to the polls and vote is typically low, students who attended the rally are hoping they can spark change in state government and convince their peers to join them.

“This election is important specifically because we have the opportunity to move the needle in our favor, especially for the younger population,” said Liz Turner, the president of the Bearkat Democrats organization. “We have the duty to concern ourselves with the issues important to our state and by voting we can show others that those issues do concern us.”

Many of the rally attendees said they want to see more policies implemented with students in mind regarding education and social issues, and believe the Democratic candidates will be the ones to alter those policies.

“They are more open to the opinions and needs of the general population instead of just the high-class citizens,” said Sarita Benavides.

“They’re not sticking to the ideals that are considered more traditional,” added Nick Garcia.

The big draw for the Democratic ticket is Governor candidate Wendy Davis, whom several of the students at the rally cited as an inspiration and believe is the leader that Texas needs.

“She is all about women’s rights,” said London Sneden, the secretary for the Bearkat Democrats. “She has become famous because of the filibuster against anti-abortion and I thought that was really stand-up. She was the only one who stood up to fight against it in the Senate. She honestly seems like the right person for the job.”

Sneden and Turner are also a fan of Davis’ attempts to make education more affordable and want to see her attempts become successful.

“Wendy Davis has fought for affordable education to help students and gotten nowhere,” Turner said. “We can change that.”

“She cares about the issues that most affect us,” Sneden added. “What most affect us here is education and the social issues we deal with. So, it is important to vote in these elections.”

The Democratic ticket also better resembles the population of Texas, according to Turner.

“You look at our ticket and we have diversity,” she said. “We have gender diversity and ethnic diversity. The Republican ticket looks all the same and that doesn’t represent the diversity of Texas.”

Turner gave a speech during the event emphasizing the difference that college students in Huntsville can make in this year’s election, even if they don’t plan on being a citizen in Huntsville for long.

“It’s important for young people to vote,” she said. “A lot of us aren’t from here, but we pay taxes here and live here for four years. So, we have every right to vote here.”

Students in attendance were optimistic about the Democratic party’s future in Texas and believe that Democratic voters will eventually be the majority in Texas.

“The young population is changing and hopefully one day it’ll be blue,” said Jessica Gradante.