Illustration by Arnie Bermedez

Every day people bombard college students with information about how to register to vote.

On the way to class, they lurk in our paths.

In our dorms, they hide out behind tables.

Then there are those organizations that keep analyzing us, trying to figure out how to get us to vote. It seems like every week I open up the paper to read articles and editorials urging the youth to vote.

Who do they think they are, telling us what to do?

Well, if you are like me, and this has begun to frustrate you, I have decided to help.

Here is a list of reasons, to make it clear to everyone why college students do not and ought not vote.

Keren Raz Columnist

Reason 1: Better to give the voting power to someone who can make more informed decisions.

We recently escaped from the house, where our parents made important decisions for us.

This vote about the future of our country just adds too much weight to our independent shoulders.

We don't even have time to do our homework, let alone understand the issues of the presidential candidates.

Honestly, it's a better idea to let other people decide the fate of our country.

I'm giving my vote to the man I met protesting outside John Edwards' rally.

He condemned those "secular, atheist" Democrats.

"Those evil people," he said.

"Why are they evil?" I asked.

"Because they just are," he said.

He is definitely more informed than us youth can be.

He definitely deserves more power with his vote.

Reason 2: Laziness rules our lives.

The Arizona Daily Star reported a few weeks ago that four UA students have petitioned to get a polling site on campus.

If they do that, I would vote.

Maybe.

Actually, I might only vote if someone puts a polling site directly in my path on my way to class.

Also, the voting process can take no longer than the two minutes I can spare before the bell rings.

Laziness rules.

The polling site at the church on the corner of Euclid and Speedway requires too much travel time from campus.

And forget the mail-in ballot.

We all know college students will lose it.

Also, doesn't the mail-in ballot need to be in before the election begins?

If so, laziness prevents me from meeting deadlines.

Reason 3: No one cares about the youth, so why should we care about anyone else?

John Edwards visited the Tucson Convention Center on Monday.

He should have visited the University of Arizona.

It's obvious the candidates don't care about us.

I went to the rally, and I saw only a handful of college students in the venue otherwise packed with supporters.

We did not show up in droves to learn more about this vice-presidential candidate.

But Edwards must have noticed those lone students in the crowd. He must have known that he needs to do more to get his voice heard among us.

There may be some who will argue that the candidates do not need to visit college campuses.

They will say that all that matters is that the candidates discuss issues that affect youth.

They will tell you that John Kerry is proposing to offer a tax credit for college students, increase the amount of the Pell Grant, and simplify the financial aid process.

They will point out how President Bush wants to encourage dual enrollment in community colleges and universities, increase the loan limit and increase the size of the Pell Grant.

What I want to know is this: When are Bush and Kerry going to come and visit us?

They need to be physically before me in order to motivate me to care about the election.

Their platforms mean nothing.

Now that I cleared those reasons up, I'll admit I registered.

But it was for the hell of it.

As we college students know, this election does not matter.

Sure, our economy is still weakened.

Sure, we are in the middle of a war.

Sure, the world cares about the outcome of this election.

(My friend who traveled to Morocco told me that people on the street constantly ask in their French accents: "Boosh or Jean Kerrie?")

But we college students do not care about the rest of the world.

We do not care about our future.

We do not care about this election.

Get it?

Keren G. Raz is a senior majoring in English and political science. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu