Only two full weeks remain in the fall semester and most students are focusing their energies on either schoolwork or the social prospects of their last two weekends in Waltham. Some students are distracted by other matters of great importance, however; the first state primary to choose a Democratic candidate to face President George W. Bush is just weeks away.My friends and I have already spent many an evening watching the Democratic debates or arguing about the virtues and policies of the different candidates. Three of my friends have started a campus club, "Brandeis for Clark," to get people interested and excited about Gen. Wesley K. Clark's candidacy. There is also a club supporting Gov. Howard Dean. It is encouraging to see students involve themselves in the political process, especially after less than one-third of Americans aged 18-24 voted in the 2000 election.

Of those in the 18-24 group who did not vote, nearly 60 percent claimed the reason was they were either too busy, not interested or out of town. Although these are certainly good reasons not to fulfill one's most basic civic duty, I am forced to contend that we well-educated college students, as the sages of democracy often say, can suck it up and vote this time around.

Let's examine the three top reasons for not voting. No one at this university is too busy to vote; it takes 20 minutes. Most of us are indeed out-of-town, but with absentee ballots being so simple to obtain and registration in Waltham so quick and painless, this really is a ridiculous excuse. The truly frightening reason for not voting is lack of interest. Apathy toward voting is widespread at Brandeis. You can judge for yourself by showing up to a meeting of a campus political club; you will be one of six students in attendance.

For such an activist campus, this kind of political apathy should be upsetting. Voting for the leader of the free world is a task of unimaginable importance, and the citizens of this republic are endowed with that right. But voting should be a local act of everyday importance as well. The presidential election is the greatest of many elections in which we as students and citizens have the right and responsibility to participate.

The most local and immediately important election at Brandeis is for our representatives in the Student Union government. As central to our lives as this is, a minority of students participate. As I mentioned before, many of us are eligible to register as Waltham residents and vote in Waltham elections as well. The elected officials of this city affect our daily lives in innumerable ways and we should have a say in who they are. It is easy to see the direct effect participating in local and state elections has, which makes the importance of voting for president all the more evident.

The 2004 Democratic primary presents an excellent opportunity for students to examine the performance of our current president and the possibilities offered by those who would take his place. Even if you aren't a Democrat this time around, the thrilling six months leading up to the party conventions to be held this summer is a lesson in democracy in action and a chance to effect change. Your vote matters, especially in primaries in which a very small percentage of the population bothers to vote.

Next year's election is extremely important from a non-partisan perspective as well. The 2000 election was so closely contended that Bush did not receive a strong mandate to govern. Much of the anger over the policies of the current administration is derived from the doubtful nature of the president's mandate. Bush has taken great strides as president without necessarily receiving the consent of Congress or of the people. Whether one sees these strides as positive or negative, it is worrisome that a president elected without the confidence of a majority or even a plurality of the electorate can govern with what seems so often reckless abandon.

The 2004 election, as any incumbent election, is a chance for Americans to validate the actions of the current president or throw him out. But 2004 is also about validating 2000, an election that revealed more questions than it did answers. Our age group is vital to American democracy, and we failed to make certain a very uncertain election in 2000. Collectively, we are powerful enough to determine who the next president of the United States will be.

The primaries are the beginning of the election process. They are more than a silly exercise in determining which candidate will have garnered the most funding by July. The upcoming primaries are a chance for voters to decide if the candidates for president in 2004 will be as boring as they were in 2000. Many are now excited about the possibility of four more years of Bush, but for those who are not, start thinking about voting come January for a superb individual who can replace him.