Student Streeter: “What is it that you think politicians don’t understand about you?”

The Calgary Journal talks to local university students about their election concerns 

With the Canadian federal election around the corner, the Calgary Journal visited Mount Royal University and the University of Calgary during a busy lunch hour. In order to identify some young student voters’ concerns, the Calgary Journal asked anyone willing to share, “What is it that you think politicians don’t understand about you?”

	Lewis Lowry, 21, studying computer information systems, MRU “That only the rich can afford to go to school these days. Education costs are getting ridiculous. With books as well, it comes up to close to 10 grand a year. For me, it’s getting a little out of hand, as well as for others who don’t have their parents pay for it.”
	Alana Burrows, 22, studying massage therapy, MRU “I don’t think that politicians understand the importance of mental health issues. It’s important to understand for every day life.”
	Ashmeeta Kaushik, studying accounting, MRU “I feel like they don’t put themselves in our shoes. There is a focus on the older generation, when there are actually more of us in the younger generation in our early twenties and teens. Our needs as youth, or as students, aren’t put on the forefront, and that’s frustrating.”
	Hayden Kim, studying nursing, MRU “I don’t think they understand how hard it is to balance expensive tuitions and the commitment expectations for school. If you have to work while going to school it is almost impossible to have a social life. I’m struggling with managing daily life and money, when I don’t even know if I’m guaranteed a job when I’m graduated. It’s scary.”
	Todd Layton, studying geology, MRU “I don’t want my hard work in university to go towards getting a good job just to get taxed higher. It’s unfair that our hard work has to go towards helping those who won’t get a job or refuse to do anything to help themselves.”
	John Leier, studying business management, U of C “There’s a reasonable disconnect between the government’s understanding of how accessible it is for the younger generation to get integrated into the business world. It’s very challenging and it’s getting more competitive as time goes on and there’s not really any good strategies right now to get us involved.”
	Jack Glass, studying mechanical engineering, U of C “To commute effectively and get from point A to point B in a relatively decent time without paying too much.”
	Rachal Robitaille, studying French, U of C “I think the government underestimates how involved the youth are in political issues and how much we actually understand about it. I think that sometimes they try to kind of go over our heads with stuff and they talk about it in terms of the broader population and not so much about the people that are coming up because it’s our future, and we’re just as involved as the people who are 50 years old and are now leaving the workforce.”
	Ingo Ionescu, studying bio science and history, U of C “I think in terms of schools, they don’t understand the funding requirements. There is still outdated equipment and lack of space.”
	Nik Lam, completed computer science, studying accounting, U of C “That the current government, provincially and federally, isn’t really supporting the Albertan economy in particular. This is impacting all of us.”

cfyvie@cjournal.ca, vpocza@cjournal.ca 

The editor responsible for this article is Kelsey Solway at ksolway@cjournal.ca