First of all, I'm not a student. I am a high country resident and an alumnus of Appalachian State that happens to value fair government and the App State experience.Kgfish wrote:You can not be disenfranchised when you are not a legal resident of the town or county. What is terrifying to think is students from my Alma mater think they should have the right to change the way of life in a town they have no intention of staying in once finished with school. If this is the way a majority of students at ASU think it is little wonder many residents have such a low opinion of students.Gonzo wrote:I'm on my phone my phone and it's late, so...
1. There is an assumption being made by some that all non-student residents of Boone are property owners/not renters.
2. It is terrifying to me that multiple alumni of my alma mater are advocating that App students should be disenfranchised. Sounds like the architects of the new voter ID bill.
Scary, scary times for the American politic. Do you hear yourselves?
75% of NC residents favor voter ID. One must show a valid picture ID to board a plane, purchase alcohol, cigarettes, a home, a firearm, Sudafed or cash a check but it is unfair for someone to prove who they are when voting?The state will provide a free ID card for anyone who wants one, so that whole "costly to poor people" nonsense doesn't hold water. Those over the age of 70 will be allowed to use expired diver's license for 10 years and native Americans can use tribal identification. It will not be implemented until 2016 and voters in the 2015 & 2015 elections will be told they need one when they come back in 2016. It is not an unreasonable request and it is neither disenfranchising nor discriminatory.
I've said this earlier in the thread, but I'll repeat it for you and others that seem to forget it: Students may be fundamentally transient, but their interests represent that of a revolving door of a population that makes up more than half the town. To give up on any sort of student representation in local government is to suppress 17,000 people, their opinions and their interest as major stakeholders in the area. Not to mention alienate the main bread winner of the Boone, NC.
The voter ID act is a ploy by conservative politicians to keep college students (a traditionally liberal voting demographic) from voting.
I try not to get emotionally invested in these message board debates, but frankly I'm offended by your disregard for the rights of students and the interest of your Alma Mater. It may have been a little longer ago for you than it was for me, but we were all students once.
*side note: We're getting bogged down in this representation issue and whether or not students should have a say in local government. As offensive and absurd as that opinion is, this unreasonable noise ordinance was the act of a few and was far removed from any sort of popular vote. This tangential debate about student voting rights is moot regarding the noise ordinance issue.