Twenty students were talking simultaneously; I was shocked at how loud their voices were. I was frightened. “How can I participate in this conversation?” I wondered. That was my first impression of an American classroom. When I was a student in China, classrooms were really quiet, and students would be punished if they spoke without permission.

“Tony, you should try doing community service. It’s not academic, and it would be a great way for you be involved in and learn about the community.”

I took my teacher’s suggestion to heart. A family friend told me about Vision New America, an organization that aims to increase civic participation through public policy and educational programs, so in my sophomore year of high school, I sought them out. I was surprised to learn how low voter turnout was in my state, so I chose to work with about 30 other students on a voter registration campaign for the 2014 mid-term election.

I ended up serving on the Community Event Team, but I also appreciated the work of other teams, especially after watching interviews created by the Video Team. I was really blown away by the interview with Jay Krishna (JK), a thin, forty year-old recent immigrant from India.

“Do you vote, now that you are an American citizen?” asked the student Interviewer.

“I am not sure I can,” answered JK in a faint, low voice.

  “Do you know why it is important to vote?” 

“Voting, eh, is the… I don't know.”

“Why did you come to the United States?”

“The U.S. offers more opportunities for education, jobs, and civil rights.”

“Would you vote, if we tell you how?”

“I think I would, but would it help me if I voted?”

While watching the interview with JK, I was shocked to realize how little some people know about voting. I think not knowing the power of voting is one of the biggest reasons why the so many people don’t vote in the United States.

Then, I visited a local community college, and tried approaching some college students as nicely as possible.

“Hi, I am Tony, can I borrow two minutes of your time to talk about the importance
    of voting?”

“Not interested.” The student walked away without giving me a chance to speak
    again.

That day I finally understood the joke that my history teacher once told me:
“Which is worse, ignorance or apathy?” The sad response many people give is, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

For me, this “sad response” summed up the issue of voting in the United States: some people don’t know why voting is important and others simply just don’t care. Like JK, they wonder if it does any good. We can change this! Realizing the root of the problem, I was motivated to make a change as big as my power allows.

Other students in the Campaign and I hosted many information events at various locations around the San Francisco Bay Area. There, we invited many local officials and influential members of the community to speak about the importance of voting and why every citizen should vote. Also, to attract young colleges voters, we went to local community colleges several times each week to set up temporary information booths, and talk personally with college students about why their vote is important.

“Can you just give me two minutes to talk about why voting is important?

The first college student walked away, and the second college student did the same. Sometimes, I would stand at the information booth for three hours and not even talk to one student. It could be boring and disappointing, but often, when I just waited a little bit longer, I would hear, “Can you tell me a little bit about voting because I wanted to vote as a student.” My heart warmed up and the previous rejections no longer mattered.

  “If you are 18 years or older, or will be 18 by the election, and a U.S. citizen, you
    can and should vote,” I’d say. “Your vote helps shape the social agenda, such as
    student debt or environmental issues, and determines the laws we have to
    obey.”

At the end of our campaign (about three months), our group had registered a total of 2,000 new voters for the 2014 midterm election. To ensure that these new voters actually showed up at the polls, we sent email reminders and made phone calls to confirm that they had voted.

My small group is proud of our efforts—they paid off. It showed us that changes could be made as long as we put enough effort into making it happen.

If we could promote change, you can as well!