Sandra Pareja can’t vote. But that didn’t stop her from getting involved in the provincial election. At age 17, Pareja is one of 9,300 double cohort students admitted into the foundation year at U of T; she is also an active campaigner for Greg Laxton, the Green Party representative for Trinity-Spadina.
Despite her inability to exercise the most basic democratic right, Pareja explains that her capacity to support the candidate of her choice is just as important as casting a ballot at the poll booth.
“I went to an all-girls Catholic high school-Loretto Abbey-and so many of the students there were so apathetic (regarding politics),” said Pareja. “But I don’t think it was because they didn’t care, as much as they weren’t educated. For me, that’s the key to everything: education.”
For Pareja, education started in the home.
“My mother was always conscientious about following her values. She wasn’t an activist, just aware,” explains Pareja. “As for my father, he works for Chrysler and while I don’t always agree with everything the company does, I realized at an early age that it was his job that put food on the table.”
While Pareja was already involved in volunteering for a number of organizations-including Amnesty International-the vibrant 17-year old didn’t become overtly involved in politics until she stepped foot onto the university campus.
“I think a lot of people when they go to university become more open,” Pareja said. “They are no longer surrounded by all their friends and this gives them an opportunity to check out different clubs, and events. In this way they lose that know-it-all high school mentality and learn new ideas.”
Dmytro Hys couldn’t agree more. At age 26, Hys is in his final year of a political theory masters program at U of T, under the Institute of Christian Studies.
Like Pareja, Hys is also ineligible to vote; he is an international student with citizenship in the Ukraine.
Hys is also politically active; he volunteers at least three nights a week to help campaign for Nellie Pedro, the provincial Liberal candidate for the Trinity-Spadina riding.
“I was interested in doing something within this riding, even though I don’t vote.” explains Hys.
He strongly believes that university can have an impact on the level of involvement youth and students have within local, provincial and national politics.
“For me the impact came in grad school not at the undergraduate level,” Hys said. “My studies became more theoretical, I developed a critical approach-now I don’t just read a newspaper and take what they say as the ultimate truth.”
For Hys, being politically aware is extremely important, especially in a democracy.
“We have one duty and that’s to vote,” he said, before continuing on to explain that as a left liberal it only seemed appropriate to support the party that exemplified his basic beliefs.
Now, in his final year of study, Hys is toying with the idea of a public political life.
“I’m not sure if I want to be an active MP. I’ve seen what those candidates endure,” Hys said, but, after flashing a quick, boyish grin, he adds “perhaps I’ll opt instead to specialize in conflict resolution.”
For Pareja, her involvement in the political campaign process helped her appreciate how truly important it is for everyone to participate.
“I understand that there is no such thing as the perfect party. There are some Green Party policies I disagree with, but it’s a process and that’s what counts.”
