No matter where you are, you can probably see one of them lurking around in your peripheral vision. They are all over campus: on Locust Walk, by the gym, outside the Quad. No, I’m not talking about Penn’s notoriously psychotic squirrels (but more on them soon…); I’m referring to the clipboard-wielding students reminding us that we have to register to vote.

If you are under 18 or have already registered, these omnipresent All-Star citizens are probably superbly annoying. But for everyone else, they actually have a really important point to make. I’ll even help them out here: REGISTER TO VOTE!!!!!

With such an historic election on the horizon, I think it’s especially important for us to make sure our voices are heard. Whether you plan to “Barack the Vote” or go Republican (hate to be boring, but I can’t think of a catchy phrase associated with McCain), just make sure you swing one way or the other.

Another important thing to know is that even if you registered to vote last year or the year before, chances are you need to change your address. Up until yesterday, I had completely forgotten that, as ever-moving college students, most of us have a new address each year.

So I’ve been naively ignoring these students all week, responding to their political pleas with a snub, “Yea, I’m already registered.” Yesterday, after being practically chased down the street by one (gotta give them credit for being so persistent), I realized that I actually do have to re-register for my new address. It really does take just a minute, and it’s definitely worth your time.