The next U.S. presidential election — the 58th quadrennial U.S. presidential election — is scheduled for Nov.8, 2016. Everyone from Ted Cruz(Rep) to Martin O’Malley(Dem) are candidates, and there are more than a handful of candidates to choose from.

The current race to the presidency has become somewhat of a circus because of the outrageous and unbelievable antics by none other than the toupee-donned, self-proclaimed best hope for

America, Donald Trump. Unlike Trump, democratic underdog Bernie Sanders is showing genuine glimpses of humanity through his righteous campaign.

The importance of the election has been growing week by week due to increasing social and economical issues. It has become abundantly clear that whoever is to be the next president will have more than their work cut out for them.

Times are changing, as is our country. The Women’s Rights movement is stronger than it has ever been before. Transgenders are breaking barriers, and the Black Lives Matter movement is an incredible force to be reckoned with. All of these and more deserve attention from the next president of the U.S.

Something that immediately needs to change before a president is even elected is the decline of young voters. It has become an extremely crucial issue. According to www.idea.int, only 20,539 of people from ages 18-29 voted in the last election. In order for us to change our future into one that we will be happy with, the youth has to get serious about voting.

A poll of Fresno City College students on who they are going to vote for and why shows most had no clear understanding of what is at stake. Not to my surprise, but much to my dismay, I ran into quite a few students who had no idea of who was running for president, other than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. They had no awareness of how their choices or lack of it directly affect their lives.

Voting may seem like a minuscule effort in the grand scheme of things, but in no which way does your vote NOT matter. Your one vote is as important as 100,000 votes. Your quiet voice is in fact loud and incredibly effective. Nonetheless, a good amount of students did have a clear idea of who they are going to vote for, which was enough to spark hope that our future does have a chance.