If you haven’t heard, in which case I must assume you’ve only just emerged from some sort of technological hermitage, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday, June 26th that same-sex marriage was to be legal in all fifty states. Activists and freedom lovers across the nation rejoiced, while much of Europe and Canada looked on with the same expression you might have when your parents finally discover what an Internet meme is. The struggle of the LGBT community has been a long one. While there is still surely some distance to go, the high court’s ruling represents what is perhaps the most decisive victory for the cause of marriage equality. As an American, I am happy beyond words for my fellow citizens that have, at long last, had their love recognized as equal to any other. As a young man, I am excited to see what my generation can accomplish – it’s undeniable that younger activists played a pivotal role in this campaign. Beyond that, I won’t spend any more time focusing on the Supreme Court decision, better people than me have already written volumes on the subject.

Now, what I want to talk about today is the exact same organization of young people that was so integral in carrying on the long fight for marriage equality. All too often, the youth vote is overlooked because so many young adults don’t seem to really follow politics. Sure, we’ll sign a petition or two and tweet an opinion on the latest headline, but I’m always surprised by how many of my classmates don’t even know who their representative is. There are so many major issues that affect college students directly: student loans, job prospects and sexual assault, just to list a few. If we don’t take our case to the government, who will? We must be our own activists if we want to see politicians respond to our needs.

Luckily, there are a ton of ways we can play an active role in politics while at school. Join a political club or start one of your own, volunteer for a campaign, write letters to the campus paper; do whatever you can do to make your voice be heard. We don’t all have the time to intern for a candidate, but at the very least we can stay up-to-date and informed on what’s going on. There are so many college students around the nation that if even a fraction of us were to unite behind an issue or candidate, we could impact the political conversation in a huge way.

So go out and do something! I don’t care which side of the aisle you fall on (well, I do, but I suppose even you liberals should stay active) we all are citizens of this great country. If we want to keep it great and shape the future for ourselves and our children, we must become active participants in politics. For too long, politicians have seemingly ignored our voice – it’s time we make ourselves heard.