Sophomore journalism major Erin Massie is looking forward to participating in this year’s presidential election and is doing so by casting her vote for the first time.

On the other hand, freshman photography major Tyler Calpin says he would love to participate in the 2016 election, but since he is from Ohio, he has already missed that primary and doesn’t think he will register in Pennsylvania to vote.

 These students were responding to a recent study conducted by Tufts University, showing that during the 2012 presidential election, the millennial generation had the lowest voting turnout compared to any other age group. 

 According to the International Business Times, only 19 percent of the total vote turned out to be millennial voters during the 2012 presidential election, compared to the nearly 51 percent that voted during the 2008 general election.

 Due to this decrease in participation to vote, the U.S. Department of Education began challenging universities and colleges throughout America to push academic programs that engage in civil leadership and democracy.

Despite recent attempts to encourage voting from colleges and universities, many students have a strong opinion as to why or why not they will be voting in this year’s election.

Massie said she feels the need to vote because of how controversial and important this year’s election is to the country, and especially the millennial generation. Massie believes that in order to inspire change within the government and country, everyone who is eligible to vote needs to participate.

Massie said the reason why millennial generation voting rates have decreased is because they simply do not care.

“A lot of our generation is blinded by their lives and do not see the bigger picture around them; they just do not care to be involved in politics,” Massie said during an interview last Monday in Village Park. 

Calpin, who wishes to participate in this year’s election, says that it might not be possible to do so. Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Calpin says that he is registered to vote in his home state, but has not yet had the chance to do so in Pennsylvania.

“I think a lot of college students are not voting because of the hassle to register to vote when the student is attending college out of state, which is a lot of students,” Calpin said last Tuesday during an interview in the Point Café.  

Calpin says that many millennial college students do not vote because they are unsure of whose views they support and the stereotype that surrounds a young person’s vote.

Taylor Celich, a freshman broadcasting major, is extremely excited to participate in this year’s election.

Celich said she is ready to participate in this year’s presidential election, considering this is the first year the 18-year-old has the chance to vote. 

Celich said registering to vote is not difficult, but it does require a good bit of time. She says that even if the process were easier, college students still would not take the time out of their schedules to register to vote because the majority just do not care to.

“College students would much rather complain about the presidential candidates than actually go out and participate to make a difference,” Celich said in an interview last Wednesday in Lawrence Hall. 

Celich said that despite the push for the millennial generation to vote, Point Park has not done much to encourage voting. She said that Point Park could have at least posted flyers around campus encouraging students to vote or consider voting. 

Sophomore public relations and advertising major James Whittfeldt is unsure of whether or not he will vote in this year’s election.

 Whittfeldt’s reasoning for the possibility of not voting in this year’s election is because he feels that none of the candidates that are running are good for our country.

Although Whittfeldt may not vote, he still feels that it is very important for the millennial generation and the up and coming generations to participate and become educated on elections.

“Politicians will start respecting the will of the youth if they actually start voting,” Whittfeldt said in an interview at Point Café last Tuesday. 

Whittfeldt said that he is very surprised at the lack of coverage and information Point Park is providing about this year’s presidential election. He feels that the university can get students involved by having those who are advertising or public relations majors create a campaign that urges or gives an incentive for students to vote.

“I think if Point Park encourages voting more actively, more students will want to participate to make a difference,” Whittfeldt said.

Pennsylvania’s registration deadline to vote in this year’s presidential primary election is March 28.