Radio Interview

To: Spokesperson

Emma Floit, Ball States 2015 Homecoming Queen winner, will be going on
WCRD (91.3 FM) at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2015. She will be discussing
college student voting and the voting information event that she has been
asked by Secretary of State Connie Lawson to be a spokesperson for. Please
feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns about the questions
that I have provided for the interview.
Thanks,
Maggi Craig
317-626-9308
mlcraig@bsu.edu

1Q: What do you think the most important thing college students should
know about voting?
1A: I believe that the most important thing college students should know
about college voting is that no one else is going to vote with college students
in mind except for us. The older generations are not really giving our needs,
like student loans, job demand and LGBTQ, much thought because these
issues dont pertain to their lives. So, as college students, we need to vote
for the issues that matter to us and be the change that we wish to see in the
world.

2Q: Personally, what do you think is the No. 1 reason college students are
not voting on your campus?
2A: Here at Ball State, I think we are pretty over programmed. Many students
have jobs on campus, extracurriculars and greek life that are pretty much
taking up all of Ball State students time in a given week. Students barely
have time to even breathe, let alone cast a ballot in an election. Students
here on campus are constantly busy and I believe that to be what is keeping
them from the polls. As a college campus, we need to make voting for
students as simple and quick as possible, so that they can get on with the
other activities their day is already filled with.

3Q: How has your right to vote played a role in your life?
3A: It has played a role in my life by giving me a voice. From a young age, I
have been taught to make sure that I always make my voice be heard. By
voting in an election, you are showing what you want and what you think is
important to you. I believe thats what college students might not be getting
about voting; all you have to do is cast your ballot in order to make your
voice be heard.

4Q: Who do you trust to educate you about the issues in an election?
4A: My parents have been a huge influence in educating me about voting.
They have shared with me their thoughts on issues and how those issues are
going to affect my future. I trust my parents to educate me on the issue
because they have once been in my shoes and know what exactly is going to
affect in five or ten years. Other than my parents, I turn to the internet to
educate myself on the election issues. I could simply go to Google and type
in Issues pertaining to college students and find articles written by people
my age that point out the issues in an election. I trust these articles as well
because they are written by people in college, around my age, that put it into
simple terms that I can understand and learn the most I can about issues
pertaining to college students.

5Q: Why do you believe that a community could not want the college voters
vote?
5A: Some communities might not believe the college students are voting
with the best interest of the community in which they live. They might think
that college voters are only in it for the I Voted! sticker they give you after
you cast your ballot. But, they are so wrong. College voters want to
contribute to the community that they live in eight months out of the year, or
even more. They go to restaurants, grocery stores and department stores all
year contributing to their community, and all the students want to do is give
back to them by voting on the issues that matter.

6Q: As a senior, you will be graduating at the end of this year and going into
the real world. How do you believe that you will still be passionate about
voting?
6A: Because I will be living it. I will start to be paying off my student loans,
thinking about going on my own healthcare plan, renting an apartment and
looking for a job. I am going to need to vote in order for these stepping
stones in my life to work in my favor. Earlier, I talked about making my voice
heard and graduating from college and going out into the real world, my
voice needs to be more loud than ever.
7Q: If there was a first year course offered in college to educate students on
voting, what do you think the curriculum should consist of?
7A: First off, the first part of the curriculum should be getting students
registered to vote. Next, it should consist on educating everything that has
to do with voting. That includes why college students should vote, the issues
being voted on, who is running in an election, difference between democrats
and republicans and absentee voting for out-of-state resident students.
Finally, there could be presentations given by government officials in Indiana
that come in and are available to answer questions or concerns given by the
students in the class. If applicable, I think it would be nice for a field trip to
be organized on the day of the election for the class so that they actually
have about an hour blocked off of their day to get to the election due to this
class.

8Q: Why do you think that campaigns like Campus Vote Project, Generation
18 and Rock the Vote have proved to be so successful?
8A: These campaigns have hundreds of people working towards the same
goal: to get college students excited about voting. They were lucky to be
able to get celebrities such as, Miley Cyrus, Tyga and Blink 182, to back up
their campaigns and encourage more college students to vote. I know that if
Beyonce came up to me and told me to vote in an election, I would probably
do it. By having big names that college students listen to and look up to,
they are going to be more likely to want to vote because if Mileys doing it,
we have to do it to be like her.

9Q: If absentee voting applied to you, which state would you decide to cast
your ballot in and why?
9A: I would still decide to vote in Indiana. I live in Indiana three-fourths of the
year. I contribute to businesses and use services in Indiana. I would not see
the point in registering to vote in a city that I do not contribute that much
time and money to. Your vote should be cast in a state that youre going to
see the most affect your vote take through changing laws or other big
issues.. For me, that is Indiana.

10Q: What should students look forward to about Secretary Lawsons event
on April 4?
10A: They should look forward to the information. From the event, they are
going to be leaving with more information about voting than theyve ever
had. We are bringing in political organizations from our own campus in order
to talk to college voters because they can put it into simple terms. These
students from these organizations are educated about the issues in an
election, but are able to explain these to even the most uneducated voter.
Secretary Lawson is working to educate college voters in order to longer
allow students to be intimidated to vote when they dont have all the facts. I
think students will be very pleased with the event and even if they are
already educated on voting, we encourage them to still come out from 6-9
p.m. on Monday, April 4 and share their own experiences with voting!