Even though I’m taking my first year of classes at ASU while at home, sitting in my pajamas, I could not sit out this election. While this pandemic has affected me as a student, my experience as a college freshman is incomparable to the severity of 2020, which has brought tragedy and uncertainty along with 225,000 COVID-19 deaths.The pandemic has affected me as a student and my experience as a college freshman, but it is still incomparable to the lives lost due to COVID-19.
It's no secret that our leadership in Arizona has dealt with this crisis poorly. We're already entering a third wave of cases here because our local and state officials continue to downplay the virus and refuse to collaborate on smart public policy. If we want to safely reopen institutions such as our schools, we need leaders who will fight to protect our educators and students.
I'm not going to sugarcoat it. We as students and young people don't usually get involved. I hear my friends ask, “Why vote if politicians don't listen to us?” but the reverse is true, too. Politicians don't listen to us because we don't use our voices at the ballot box. Young people aged 18-29 have the lowest rate of political participation, even though government decisions affect our futures more than anyone else's.
If we want to shape our future, we need to get involved and vote for diverse leaders who will actually represent us.
That's why I volunteered for Hiral Tipirneni's campaign for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. I wanted to channel my energy into action by working to get an inspirational candidate elected to Congress. As a woman of color and a daughter of two immigrants myself, I proudly support Tipirneni. Having emigrated from India at a young age, Tipirneni looks at issues such as immigration and healthcare with empathy and logic. She wants everyone to be able to live the American Dream — to build a better life for themselves and their families — just as she did.
This has been an amazing opportunity for me to learn about political issues, make personal and professional connections and connect with my community in a way I hadn't before. Because most interactions are virtual, I've been able to work with interns from across the country.
On our phone banks (conducted via Zoom), I get to have some social “normalcy” by working with other driven volunteers and making tons of calls to voters to get out the vote for Tipirneni.
The 6th Congressional District race is one of the tightest House races in Arizona and one of the tightest in the country — every major national pollster has rated it a toss-up. If elected, Tipirneni will become the first woman of color to represent Arizona in Washington.
Hiral's opponent, Republican Rep. David Schweikert, has been in Congress for a decade and hasn't done enough for students. Schweikert said in 2010, "I don’t see the data” behind climate change, has done nothing to cut the costs of student loans and to top it off, has broken 11 House ethics rules.
We need Hiral Tipirneni — a physician who prioritizes facts and data — to guide us smartly and safely through the ongoing pandemic. Her experience in the emergency room gives her a unique perspective when it comes to dealing with COVID-19 and fixing this country's broken health care system — which is now in jeopardy at the worst possible time.
Throughout her career, Tipirneni has displayed an enormous amount of compassion and integrity through her service to the community via cancer research advocacy.
She knows that Arizona is filled with opportunity for people of all backgrounds, and electing her to Congress is exactly what this state needs.
She wants to address the climate crisis and invest in new, bold thinking and renewable energy. She wants to listen to the doctors and the scientists, instead of corporate donors and lobbyists. She wants to make sure college kids, like her own kids, can afford to get a good education without being saddled by debt for decades. She wants everyone to have the right to a safe, healthy and good life, no matter where they were born or what they look like.
This election is the most important of our lifetimes, and it's time for us to speak out and raise our collective voices for racial justice, the environment and so much more. I've had to balance this internship with my school life, but knowing that I am working alongside so many other young people to improve this country makes it all worth it. On Election Day, if you have any availability, please sign up for a phone bank here, and vote to send a doctor to Congress!
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this letter to the editor are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors. This letter to the editor was submitted by Nikhila Basana, a freshman at ASU studying political science.
Reach the author at nbasana@asu.edu.
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