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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2007-10-24, Page 4Page 4 October 24, 2007 • The Huron Expositor Opinion Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK 1WO Adut.s can r m from student vote If Ontario Student Vote 2007 shows nothing else, it demonstrates that teens are no longer mimicking their parents when it comes to taking a political stance. In an exercise designed to get. teenagers interest- ed in the political process and encourage them to vote, high school students across Ontario elected 18 Green Party candidates in the recent provincial election. Locally, if CHSS students had decided the Huron - Bruce riding's outcome,. Liberal MPP Carol Mitchell would have beendefeated by the Green Party's Victoria Serda bytwo votes. Serda, who came fourth in ` the actual election, is understandably excited by the results ofthe stu- dent vote and sees them as the outcome of students listening; to the : party's message instead of feeling an allegiance to one party or another. With the election happening close to the same time Al Gore received a Nobel Peace Prize for sounding the alarm on global warming for his Oscar -winning documentary "An Inconvenient Muth," it seems that young4people are hearing and responding to the`message that the planet is facing considerable environmental challenges. And, they're taking the message seriously enough to vote for a party best known to share that con- cern. While the. Green Party is growing in popularity among adults as well, the state of the environment is usually regarded as just one of many issues to be balanced by most adults when considering how to vote. Perhaps the sense of urgency is greater among the generation who has the most to lose. Maybe adults need to take a closer look at the student vote and consider the kind of mess we're leaving for the next generation to cope with. Another lesson adults can learn from the student vote is the high level of voter turnout. While actual voter turnout was the worst yet across Ontario in the provincial election, students whose votes don't even count yet were interested enough to participate. Let's hope that interest in the democratic process continues when they reach the age of 18. Susan Hundertmark Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 E-mail us at seaforth@bowesnet.com Visit our home page at www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com OUEIIECOR MEDIA Canada $ "Ps!' "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through; the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs." I'm not exactly leading the parade for new technology It is entirely appropriate that I live in one of the last rural municipalities in Ontario to gain access to high speed inter - net. There is nothing particularly speedy about me - physically at least. And, I am never one to be leading the parade as far as technological advancements are concerned. Rather, I am more likely to be skeptically and hesitantly following behind - I'm still, for example, carrying a roll of film in my purse "just in case" even though we only use digital cameras at the newspaper anymore. I dragged my feet for years about owning a cellphone and bought one about five years ago for emergencies after hearing a police officer speak about its importance as a safety pre- caution, especially for women. And, while I refuse to give the phone com- panies any more of my money than the occa- sional "Pay As You Go" card fee, I grew com- fortable with my phone, especially while trav- elling separately from my family. I should have known I was in for another big change when my son returned home from a field trip somewhat embarrassed by the experience of taking my phone with him. It seems my miniature cellphone had grown to gargantuan proportions over five years, at least compared to the increasingly smaller versions that are now common. His classmates were wondering if he had taken the family's cordless phone by mistake - I suppose the only thing more archaic would Susan Hundertmark have been if he'd pulled an old-fashioned crank phone off of the wall of a museum exhib- it. Still, I liked my phone and I was not impressed when six months ago, I tried to use it and was told by my virtual operator that my cellphone needed to be replaced by a new, free digital replacement. It still worked fine but I no longer had the option of using it. Yes, the replacement was smaller and sexi- er and could perform a million more tasks - that I would never use - than my previous phone. But, it was high strung and fussy and only turned on when the mood struck it - useful in an emergency it was not. Stuck in a malfunctioning car on a deserted road somewhere and approached by a preda- tor, I can't think of one useful function of a new phone that only periodically turns on. At least my old phone had a bit of weight to it if I decided to use it as a projectile. I'm sending my phone away to be diagnosed and fixed. But, in the meantime, I've discov- ered that my six -month-old phone is now obsolete. Apparently, you can't buy a phone anymore without a camera feature included. If it turns on, I'll have a new self-defence tool in my arsenal - I'll be able to take pic- tures of would-be attackers. That is, for the next few months until my next phone also becomes obsolete. Ron & Dave Yep..summer's over, the air is crisp and the leaves are falling. I suppose we should start raking this up. Oh yeah. They ain't gonna clean themselves up. We'd better get cracking. by David Lacey Y'know...the good Lord put them there.... the good Lord can take them away. 4e SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 36.18 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. SENIORS; - 34.17 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. Foreign: 36.18 a year in advance, plus $181.48 postage, G.S.T. exempt U.S.A.; 36.18 a year in advance, plus $92.56 postage, G.S.T. exempt Published weekly by Sun Media at 11 Main St., Seaforth. Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occu- pied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. 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