On Tuesday, Nov. 6, Americans were given the opportunity to change the way that their country is governed. This year’s Midterm Elections were crucial, as key issues such as the funding of Planned Parenthood and immigration restrictions were at stake. The results of Tuesday’s elections decides how the country will function for the next 730 days.

If you want to see a change, then you are responsible for making that change. As college students, we hold a greater amount of power than we think.We sit through hours of lectures and soak in as much information as possible as we tediously jot-down notes. We are educated enough to know what we truly value. We are the educated young minds that have the ability to create the America that we want to see.

To neglect the power that you are given as a registered voter is to neglect your civic duty. There was no excuse to sit and let the opportunity slip from your fingers. It takes a matter of minutes to register to vote, and with proper research, it takes even less time to fill out a ballot. If you did not have access to a vehicle, numerous ride-sharing services such as Lyft and Uber ran special promotions to help get voters to the poll. Those that did not intentionally venture to the polls on Tuesday do not reserve the right to complain about the outcome of an election that they had the opportunity to change. How can you say that there are problems within our nation when you chose not to take part in fixing those very problems?

This midterm cycle, more than any other in years past, did not come up quietly. Countless hours of political ads, TV news coverage and constant messages from current politicians showed the importance of this election. Several celebrities advocated for people to vote in this year’s Midterm Elections such as Oprah, Beyoncé, Will Ferrell, Rihanna and Reese Witherspoon among others.

One of the main reasons people say they didn’t vote is because they don’t feel like a single vote matters. The notion that a single vote doesn’t matter is simply not true. A single vote is a way to make your voice heard. To sit-in and not vote is to sit in silence. If you sympathize or believe in various economic, social or ethical causes, voting is a chance to make your beliefs known.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority that participate.”