Push for more college student representation in local government in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — The Hoosier state is home for many big universities that students from across the state, nation and globe attend.

Yet, students living in these cities are often voiceless in local government.

“The younger the age group, the less they participate, the less they donate, more cynical about government overall and about elections and the less likely they are to vote," Chad Kinsella said.

Kinsella is a Political Science Professor at Ball State University who specializes in local government.

He says the 18 to 34-year-old demographic is the least likely to participate in politics.

This is because they're underrepresented in office, influenced by the media and news they consume, and often don’t feel a connection to where they’re living.

Indiana University student David Wolfe Bender wants to change that.

“We’re a city full of students. Students don’t realize that so much of their daily lives are affected by what local governments do," the third year undergraduate said.

Bender is running for Bloomington City Council, which he says woefully lacks a student voice.

He wants to bring attention to issues important to students like housing affordability, safety, and transportation.

“Students are far more likely to walk, bike, and scooter in Bloomington. It’s very unsafe to do all three of those things. We’ve designed our city for streets, even though half of our city’s primary method of transportation is not in a car," Bender said.

Is it impossible for a student to get elected to local government?

Not according to Ted Hardesty.

“There’s benefit in student experience because so many of the city councilors don’t always see the student experience and they need to hear it from a student," the fifth year Purdue University student said.

Hardesty is the West Lafayette City Councilor for District 3.

He says he was inspired to get involved because of issues he saw on campus like mental health, sexual violence and housing.

“A lot of time the town doesn’t know the issues that are going on on campus. They don’t listen," Hardesty said.

Hardesty wants to see more young people like him in positions of power.