As the dawn breaks and the day begins, the students at Ohio State are required to make a very important decision today. When the sun sets this evening, the fate of our great country will be up in the air, and all the world will be eagerly watching.

The fate of the free world is in your hands, OSU. That’s right everyone: You must vote today.

I know the past few weeks have been rife with advertisements emphasizing the importance of the youth vote. Every year the message is the same: Youngsters are too lazy and unmotivated to vote. They don’t care. They have no real desire to stand up and make a difference.

Or do they?

This election is our chance to show them all. For once, our generation can prove to the rest of the world that we are strong, responsible people who will no longer be content to simply be ignored. We have seen what happens when our voice is not heard, and we have not liked the end result.

Now is our time.

Notable hip-hop artist Sean Combs (P. Diddy to those of you “in the know”) has been spotted in trendy nightclubs and social situations sporting shirts with a catchy slogan. “Vote or Die,” the shirt says.

I whole-heartedly endorse this slogan. I think eligible students who do not exercise their right to vote are eligible for a quick end of some kind. Can we do anything less?

This just underscores the importance of voting in today’s election. While we at The Lantern have strived to be as non-biased as possible in our coverage, it has become apparent that one party has been more focused on our demographic than the other. Democrats are clearly courting the youth vote and have held numerous rallys on campus to show it.

This does not mean that Republicans don’t want your vote today, however. Not every student is a Democrat, and the Republican party needs our generation to vote just as much as the Democrats do. When people say that the important thing is to vote – regardless of which party a person is affiliated with – this is what they mean.

Every vote deserves to be counted – even if they are cast by way of provisional ballot. That pirate of the election, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, might be trying to send youth voters to Davy Jones’ locker if they try to vote at the wrong place, but this is the time to stand up for what you believe in. We must make Blackwell an angry pirate.

This might not be easy. It could require students to stand in line for nearly six to eight minutes for the privledge of excercising their freedom. But we must not be daunted, “Generation Y.” We must stand tall, even if the line lasts a full quarter of an hour.

But if the line lasts more than that, I wouldn’t bother. And I have a feeling that the lines will be short, anyway.

This election will likely come down to the last couple of thousand votes cast. Ohio is shaping up to be a key battleground state that both candidates are coveting highly. Your one vote might not literally change the election, but when coupled with the other student votes it will make a loud sound.

That sound is one of freedom. One of democracy. And one of super awesomeness. If students don’t vote, this election could turn out to be decided by the largest margin of victory ever.

Do we really want that? I know I don’t. If I didn’t ensure that my absentee ballot was sent with plenty of time to spare, I would be afraid that George W. Bush would carry Ohio and the overall popular vote after a dispute over provisional ballots that carries into the wee hours of the next morning.

But I am not here telling you who to vote for. As editor of The Lantern, I am simply telling you to rush out as soon as you read this and vote.

Just think: How embarassing would it be if Michigan made the right choice and we didn’t?

Adam Jardy is a senior in journalism and editor of The Lantern. Believe it or not, he does realize the election was last week. Send him your favorite pirate pickup line at [email protected].