In a poll conducted on the New York University campus in late October, more than 3,000 students were asked for what price they would sell their right to vote in the next presidential election.

According to politico.com, the poll was conducted by an NYU journalism class, and it found that 66 percent of those surveyed would sell their right to vote for a free ride to NYU. As an undergrad with mounting student loans I can surely understand the squeeze with the rising cost of tuition. However, I can’t find any common ground with the 20 percent who would sell their right to vote for an iPod Touch. I refuse to accept that my generation is that shallow, even 20 percent of them.

There are many reasons college students should care about what is going on in the government at local, state and national levels. Politics affect issues important to us ranging from how much we pay to go to school down to seemingly little things like which side of the street we can park on when it snows. It seems little until you forget to move your car and get slapped with a $50 ticket or until you have to choose between going tens of thousands of dollars in debt by going to college or taking your chances by jumping into the job market without a degree. Having a say in those issues definitely isn’t worth a free iPod, and in my opinion it isn’t even worth free tuition.

Let me ask you, do you know who the potential presidential candidates are for the two major political parties? It is primary season and the potential presidential candidates are lining up on both sides of the political aisle looking to get your vote. November 2008 might seem like a long way off, but the presidential primaries, which in my opinion are just as important as the presidential election, are closer than you think. The primaries will decide which of the candidates will get the Republican and Democratic nominations to appear on the ballot in November 2008. If you think that one Democrat or one Republican is the same as all the others, you are very mistaken. While there are definitely common themes to be found in all of the potential candidates in their respective parties, saying that John Edwards would govern the same as Barack Obama just because they are both Democrats is like saying Hillary Clinton would govern the same as Rudy Giuliani because they both lived in New York. It is very important who eventually makes it on the ballot for each major party, because the candidates are different enough that it could potentially change America’s future dramatically.

As the field is narrowed down, we need to make our voices heard. I don’t care if you are a conservative or a liberal or a green or an independent. Just as I do my best to research and eventually pick the best candidate for my party of choice I expect the other sides to be doing the same thing. Research and pick the best candidate in your party of choice—be it one of the major parties or a third party—because in the end we all want the best person for the job.

If our age group is insistent on remaining apathetic and uninformed about the difference a handful of votes can make, we may as well just sell our votes for $1 million apiece, which is the going rate in the poll for a lifetime voting right, and take what comes without a fight. Instead, I think, we should question our leadership and potential leadership to make them accountable to us, their constituency. Not only will I not hand over my right to vote for $1 million, but I also won’t hand my vote over to anyone who won’t prove their worthiness of it—because let’s face it, that $1 million my voting right is worth could buy a lot of deliciously tempting coffee drinks, and that’s a lot to live up to.