By Cheryl Mattox Berry
Access to birth control. Affordable health care. Equal pay and equal opportunity. These women’s issues have moved to the forefront of the 2012 presidential race.
They’re also the reasons teenage girls should register to vote and work in the campaign of President Barack Obama. We need to preserve laws already on the books that mandate an even playing field for women and give them the right to make choices about their bodies. We should also give Mr. Obama a second term so that he can continue working on behalf of women.
Republican candidates have made it pretty clear what is ahead for women if they move into the Oval Office. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the likely Republican nominee, said he would cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading provider of sexual and reproductive health care for teenage girls, women and even men. It also provides free mammograms and pap smears for low-income women. Romney’s objection: Planned Parenthood provides abortion services. Never mind all the other things Planned Parenthood offers, Romney is focused on one thing – abortion services, which represent only 3 percent of the organization’s business. How narrow-minded.
Women’s groups say Republicans have declared an all-out war on women’s rights and are seeking to turn back the clock on gains made over the last 40 years. We can’t let this happen. Girls who are graduating from high school this year shouldn’t have to start another women’s liberation movement, tracing the steps of their mothers and grandmothers.
From now until the November election, girls and women need to work together to make sure that their voices are heard loudly and clearly. That means launching voter registration drives, focusing on 18-year-old girls, who will be eligible to vote for the first time. Most importantly, revisiting these newly registered voters prior to the election to make sure they have the necessary identification and actually cast their ballot on Nov. 6
Girls who are too young to vote can help get out the vote by volunteering with the Obama campaign. In 2008, students young as 14 worked for Democratic ticket. There is plenty to do. Students can call voters to discuss the issues, register voters and help organize fund-raising activities. Getting teens on board is a plus. They are enthusiastic and high energy, and can easily engage new voters in conversations about President Obama and his track record.
In addition, the Obama campaign is sponsoring an Organizing Fellowship for the summer. This 12-week internship, available in cities across the nation, is designed to train the next generation of community organizers. Students participating in the program will help the campaign expand its outreach efforts in the community. Students and recent graduates interested in this unpaid internship should apply by June 2. For more information, go to:
https://my.barackobama.com/Summer-Organizing-Fellow
Students can also get community service hours when they volunteer on the campaign. They should check with their schools for guidelines. Working on a campaign is an eye-opening experience that gives students a close look at how voters come together at the grassroots level to elect a president. They don’t have a vote, but their voices can be heard.