This Tuesday, Feb. 5, Democratic and Republican voters head to the polls for presidential primaries across the country. Among the 22 states voting this Tuesday are New York and California, two delegate-rich states that are highly represented within Columbia’s student body. Weeks after the Iowa and New Hampshire results, which typically produce clear frontrunners, the race remains unsettled. Unlike newspapers at our peer institutions, we have consciously declined to endorse a candidate in favor of a broader message: Now, more than ever, it is time for Columbia students to exercise their right to vote.

Every election, it is tempting to conclude that this year, of all years, the outcome really matters. But by any measure, 2008 is shaping up to be a historic election year. For the first time since 1952, neither the sitting president nor the vice-president will be on the November ballot. For the first time in our nation’s history, a major party is set to choose either an African-American or a woman as its presidential nominee. Against the backdrop of a continuing war abroad and a faltering economy at home, candidates from both parties are claiming the mantle of change. Voters—especially young voters—have the rare opportunity to inject new vitality into a political system with which most Americans have become frustrated.

New Yorkers, along with their big-state brethren, habitually complain that their votes don’t count: in recent primary seasons, only the early states mattered, and in recent general elections, only the swing states mattered. College students, too, often feel that their votes amount to little in national politics. This Super Tuesday, these groups can have a real impact on the eventual nominees. It is up to voters to make of this election what they will, and Columbia students should do their part.