Each year (excluding election years), the president of the United States is required by the Constitution to give the State of the Union address. Thursday, President Barack Obama did just that, giving his take on how America currently stands and his plans for the future. Yet, at Ball State University, several students seemed not to notice.
Allison Suer, a junior who calls herself Libertarian, says she is alarmed at how many students do not know a thing about politics, and that students not knowing about the State of the Union address is the result of an alarming trend.
"It seems almost everyone I talk to is completely ignorant on politics," Suer said, "and this worries me a great deal. As a Libertarian, I feel that it is the individual's responsibility to immerse themselves [sic] in knowledge. At the same time, I feel like we could all do a lot more to encourage students to learn about politics at a young age."
Suer has a point. Of the twelve random students I asked about the State of the Union Friday, none had watched, only five knew it was on the previous night, and three had no idea what it was. This kind of data also worries Adam Fox, a sophomore moderate Republican and self-proclaimed political junkie. Fox says the reason that students do not know about politics is because they feel it does not affect them.
"When students grow up and start to get mortgages and pensions and apply for jobs, then they will care more about who is running the country," Fox said. "Unfortunately, they've lost a lot of years of voting by then."
Fox agrees with Suer that it would be prudent for schools to implement more political discussions at a young age. He thinks this will get people to take an interest in politics going forward.
"Then," Fox said with a smile, "maybe people will care when the president addresses the future of our nation."
Not everyone on campus ignored the address by Obama. For Fox's opinion on the speech, click here
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