Assemblyman George Latimer, from New York District 91, came to LaPenta’s End Zone on Sept. 16 to speak to the Iona community about the general disinterest in politics and the government decisions that will ultimately affect students.

When Latimer asked the crowd of almost 50 students who was familiar with Lady Gaga, every hand shot in the air.  His follow- up question was ‘Who is familiar with Harry Wilson?,’ and the room fell uncomfortably silent.

For those of you that also do not know, Harry Wilson is a 38-year-old Republican and retired Wall Street broker running for New York state comptroller.  If elected, Wilson will decide on college and pension funds, and the effects will ultimately trickle down to Iona’s tuition amount. The incumbent, Tom DiNapoli, makes these decisions for us now, so our knowledge about both men is important. Nevertheless, we continue to pay attention to Eminem and Jay-Z concerts and NY Jets games before local politics.

The inherent problem that Latimer addressed in his speech was that students’ minds are not focused on the hard issues in today’s politics because they feel they do not directly affect them. He believes that students are wrong in this thinking. 

Interested in the construction of the new residence hall on campus? The decisions about budgets and spending for the new addition lie in the hands of local politicians, some of whom were previously mentioned.

“At a time when many Americans, particularly young people, are frustrated with politics and disenchanted with politicians, we were lucky to have our own Assemblyman George Latimer speak to students,” Director of Honors and Associate Professor of Political Science Jeanne Zaino said.

“Latimer’s remarks were refreshing because he began by identifying with students, acknowledging their interests, and where they get their news. He then made a case for not only paying attention to things we enjoy but more importantly to things that matter and things that will actually impact our lives directly, such as the current candidates for Comptroller in New York,” she said.

 “Politics begins with the individual and what they are interested in, ”  Latimer said. At the time of the Vietnam War, men of age paid attention to those in power because it directly affected their lives. In today’s society, people care about the issues they are affected by, and for young adults and students, this has proven to be very few political affairs.  The technological age we live in also makes it easy to access news from several different sources. It also means that we can tune out or shut off what is uninteresting to us.

When it comes to electing public officials, people tend to vote according to the demographic they associate themselves with. This isn’t an entirely bad idea, but it can prove to be dangerous if we fail to look at the issues and cast our vote solely on political party association. Politicians try to catch the votes of the public quickly, and they are oftentimes guilty of abandoning focus on the important issues at hand. 

Latimer advised students in his speech to be careful when voting for a candidate and to choose the individual who will put what we want into action.

“Assemblyman Latimer’s message was clear, despite all the information and entertaining stories competing for our collective attention, we all should remember that it is imperative we keep an eye on what will really will matter long term to our lives, the future of our families, our campus, etc.,” Zaino said.

 It all comes down to taking an interest in our local politics, learning more about the advocates for issues that concern students, and ultimately choosing the leaders they want to see represent them. Whether this is George Latimer or Harry Wilson, they must make their choice personal and elect the individual who will voice their concerns.