By Sally Kim | Guest Blogger
Part of our series of bloggers on what the elections mean to them.
Every 4 years, television sets are bombarded by campaign ads, reams of paper are sacrificed to either promote or criticize political candidates and propositions, millions of phone calls are given to registered voters, and presidential debates are meticulously dissected all for one day, Election Day. This year Election Day is on November 6th.
One issue that people can vote on in Maryland is Question 4 (otherwise called the Maryland Dream Act). Question 4 says that if a student has graduated high school and their parents have paid taxes, they are able to pay in-state tuition rates at Maryland’s colleges, regardless of immigration status. I believe if you care about the future of hardworking students, you should vote in favor of Question 4!
Although I am not an eligible voter, I got to spend time in Maryland participating in the Social Justice Camp and Maryland Dream Summer organized by the National Korean Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC). I worked directly to advocate for in-state tuition for eligible immigrant students with 10 other wonderful youth who are committed to access to affordable education for all. For 11 days, I knocked on doors, participated in phone banking, and tabled in Maryland’s Asian American communities. I got to tell Maryland voters how important the Maryland Dream Act is to students like me.
This program has given me a wonderful, dynamic and irreplaceable experience because of how much I was able to accomplish as part of this team. This experience also showed me how important one vote can mean to the hardworking undocumented students living in Maryland and their path to higher education. One vote has the ability to change their futures.
Voting is an irreplaceable tool of advancement and change. As Korean American and Asian Americans, and a growing minority in America, our votes are essential to this year’s election. Your vote can also count for the people who cannot vote for the policies that can directly change their lives. Undocumented students can only depend on the voters that will help them earn an education in public institutions of higher education in Maryland. Voters have the ultimate power in determining what will happen in our communities: vote for access to education for young people vote for Question 4 in Maryland.
