worse than standing in the voting booth asking yourself, “Who the heck is that per- son?” Here is a great Mary- land election guide, for DC election guides click here or visit here , and visit this web- site for a Virginia election guide. If you are registered in a state other than the ones listed, simply enter your state’s name and “2012 election guide” in a search engine to find potential resources to help you make an in- formed decision. **Don’t forget to read up on any “measures” regarding issues in your region like schools, dis- trict ordinances, etc.** Get involved! Create a Facebook, Evite, or Google calen- dar event and invite friends to vote. Holding each other accountable can gently encourage one another to exercise our right to vote. Hold an election party! Make plans to meet up at someone’s house after cast- ing your vote and watch the updates of the election re- sults while enjoying dinner. Hold a potluck, collect funds to order pizza, or cook to- gether, and enjoy being an American on Election Day. Yes! In fact, for 18-29 year olds, voting is increasing in popularity. Consider this: in 2000, about 15.8 million voters in this age range voted whereas a whopping 20.1 million voters in that same group casted their votes just 4 years later! What’s more is that the Census reports that in 2008, there were 44 million 18-29 year old Americans eligible to vote, “more than one- fifth of the voting eligible population”. What does this all mean? It means your vote is making a major impact in politics. In other words, the politicians recognize the growing size of your age group and thus are listening to concerns relevant to your lives. Politicians are listening to your concerns about increasing college tuition costs, health care, the war in the Middle East, jobs, and more. Know the old saying, “There is power in num- bers”? Well, those running for office are very aware of this truth and they are all ears when it comes to issues affecting 18-29 year olds so be loud, very loud! Register to vote. In order to get your opin- ions heard, you must register to vote. Click here to visit the Rock the Vote website and click on your respective state to acquire election information specific to your state/district, learn what to take with you to the polls once you are already regis- tered, learn where to go, sign-up for election remind- ers, learn how to volunteer for the upcoming elections, and most importantly, learn how to register. Become informed. Research ahead of Elec- tion Day to be an informed voter. There is nothing DOES YOUR VOTE REALLY COUNT? Inside this issue: Presidential Candidates Chart 2 Regional Updates 3-4 Local Meet & Greet 5 Alumni Spotlight 5 Special Points of Interest: Rock the Vote! Obama vs. Romney on Relevant Issues Regional Updates Local Meet and Greets THE ALUMNI CONNECTION OCTOBER 2012 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 5 The Urban Alliance Volunteer at an upcom- ing Rock the Vote event or learn how to host your own by visiting this website . You may just acquire more skills to note on your résumé! Don’t forget to vote! Beat the lines and vote now! Virginia, DC, and Maryland are already allow- ing registered citizens to participate in the general election prior to Election Day. Some states allow early voting in-person and/or by mail. Visit the Rock the Vote website here to learn how you can vote early and when the General Election Early Voting Period ends. If you can’t vote early for whatever reason, don’t forget that the voting polls close at a certain time and that you must vote at your designated polling station. Visit this website to learn more!
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THE ALUMNI CONNECTION · Lower corporate tax rate across the board to 25% Cut taxes and regulationsto encourage business Cut "non-security discretionary [government] spending" by
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KNOW WHERE THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES STAND ON ISSUES THAT AFFECT YOU
Sources: The Economist Obama’s plan to reduce college tuition; “Where They Stand”; Mitt Romney’s education plan; Obama and
Biden homeland security agenda; Find the Data; Comparison Chart; Young Voters: A Political Powerhouse
Barack Obama (Democrat)
Mitt Romney (Republican)
Jobs & the Economy Focus on key areas in rural communities to help businesses access capital and expand rural job search and training
Double exports to foster job creation
Repeal Bush tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000
Stimulus spending and tax cuts to grow the econ- omy (short term)
Cut spending and raise taxes on wealthy to reduce deficit (long term)
Make American businesses competitive in the global economy
Open markets abroad, on fair terms, for American goods and services
Make Bush tax cuts permanent
Lower corporate tax rate across the board to 25%
Cut taxes and regulations to encourage business
Cut "non-security discretionary [government] spending" by 5% to reduce deficit
Health Care Ban insurance company discrimination of patients with pre-existing condition
Lower health care costs and guarantee more choice
Calls for patient protections like allowing coverage for pre-existing conditions
Tax credits will subsidize premiums
People without work-based insurance will have access to new markets
Small business gets help for offering insurance and Medicaid will expand
Repeal Obama's healthcare plan
Initiate market-based reforms that empower states and individuals and reduce health care costs
Created similar legislation to Obama care in MA but believes it's not appropriate for all of USA and wants to repeal
Proposes encouraging individuals to purchase their own health insurance rather than via employers, and allowing insurance across state lines
Education/College Costs Plans to reduce costs of higher education by in- creasing amount of federal grant money available for low-interest loans
Invest in the Perkins loan program from $1 billion to $8 billion and update the formula for distributing money so that colleges are rewarded based on success-fully offering relatively lower tuition costs and serving low-income students
Provide $1 billion in aid to states that curb educa- tion costs
Believes that if market improves, parents should be able to save more money for their children’s higher education
Strengthen and simplify the financial aid system
Welcome private sector participation instead of pushing it away
Replace burdensome regulation with innovation and competition
Homeland Security
& Military Rebalance defense capabilities for the 21st century
Strengthen military partnerships and alliances
Defeat terrorism worldwide and prevent nuclear terrorism
Protect Americans from terrorist attacks and pro-tect critical infrastructure
Modernize America’s aging infrastructure
Modernize air and naval forces, weapons systems, and equipment including the nuclear arsenal
Grow the number of troops and ensure that funds go to their needs and care
Halt efforts to cut military budget
Would increase strength of armed forces, including number of troops and warships, adding almost $100 billion to the Pentagon budget in 2016.
In 2008, 18-29 year olds were surveyed regarding which issues meant the most to them. Here is a chart listing where each presi-
dential candidate stands on the issues this age group selected.
Chicago Applicants take a break during Pre-Work to smile for the camera
Corporate and Geek Squad
employees to address the
topic of navigating technology.
Chipotle generously catered a
networking dinner that al-
lowed DC applicants to min-
gle with the Best Buy volun-
teers and UA Staff.
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Clockwise: Best Buy Volunteers address DC Interns; DC Mentor and long-time UA Supporter Steve McMahon and DC Pro-gram Director Nathaniel Cole ‘05 oversee the participation; and a Best Buy Volunteer holds a small group discussion with DC Interns during their breakout session por-tion of the Teen Tech Summit
Above: DC Interns take a break with DC Program Director Nathaniel Cole ‘05; Below: DC Interns volunteer at the Capital Area Food Bank