Eighty-seven percent of college students said they will vote in the upcoming election and 72 percent of college students said they were interested in the upcoming political elections, according to a Dec. 30, 2011 Huffington Post article.

Eastern students discussed their political activity and what they planned to do during the 2012 presidential election.

William Plaza, a junior psychology major, said he does not consider himself politically active.

“I’ve never been interested in politics,” Plaza said. “I’m hoping to be active some time soon.”

Plaza said he did not vote in the last presidential election, but is hoping to vote in the next presidential election although he said he was not sure whom he was going to vote for yet.

Brandon Jones, a junior family and consumer sciences major, said he considers himself politically active.

Jones said it is important for our generation to vote because it effects the way students live.

Jones said he voted from Barack Obama in the last presidential election and he said he will probably vote for Obama again in the upcoming election.

Jones said he thinks college students do not exercise their voting rights is because voting does not matter to them.

Zach Nelson, a sophomore chemistry major, said he feels it is “pointless” to be politically active.

“It just seems kind of pointless (to vote) with the electoral college,” Nelson said. “The popular vote doesn’t count.”

Nelson said as a republican, it does not matter who he votes for in the next presidential election because Illinois usually leans to the democratic side.

Nelson said he also feels the current generation is not aware about the current political situation.

“Because of the Facebook generation and all the social media, we are stupid,” Nelson said.

Amber Rigsby, a senior family and consumer sciences major, said she felt it is important for everyone to be politically active.

“(Political activism) is how you change things and that is how you keep things from happening,” Rigsby said. “In our generation, we tend to be comfortable with how things are.”

Rigsby said she considers herself politically active and plans on voting for Obama in the next presidential election.

“If there is a problem, I will take it to the proper authority to fix it,” Rigsby said.

Rigsby said if the current generation were to take over where the last generation of activists left off and were to band together, then problems like homelessness and hunger could be fixed.

Sara Duncan, a junior family and consumer sciences major, said she feels she is “somewhere in the middle” when it comes to politics.

Duncan said she was not old enough to vote in the last presidential election, but she said she would have voted for Obama if she had the chance, but she does plan on voting in the upcoming presidential election, even though she said she is not sure who she is going to for yet.

Duncan said people should become politically active now because it will affect them later on in life.

“All the different policies effect us now and in the future,” Duncan said.

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or kjrichter@eiu.edu