Throwback Thursday is a weekly online feature where we look back at an archived issue of the Straight to rediscover old stories and stir up a little nostalgia.

Today during my weekly search of the archives, I stumbled on a letter to the editor (yes, the Straight used to print those) that is as relevant today as it was when it was published on October 26, 1972—four days before the federal election that saw Pierre Trudeau voted into office for a second term.

While not exactly grammatically sound, the letter’s spirited message gets the point across.

Here’s an excerpt:

OFF YOUR ASS! VOTE NOW!

Dear people,

I’m tiring of the rhetoric of our youth, imported rhetoric, at that: “I’m not going to bother voting as there’s no choice”, etc. Sounds very avant garde, but really a drag. NO CHOICE?!....

It’s up to us, all of us, but while bitching about the inadequacies of our political situation, awaken to the fact that we do have more than a two-party system here, which puts us about twenty years ahead of the struggle south of the border. 

Granted voting isn’t the end all and be all and it shouldn’t be, however it’s a great starting point and it’s not impossible, if you vote, to affect quite a change in this country come time to tally up the votes… it could just be the beginning of a new era of hope that the peoples of our country so desperately need. 

- Hub & Maggie Hughes 

P.S. Abstaining on election day doesn’t hurt the present government, it helps them. The choice is yours, VOTE.

History tells us that voter turnout in the youngest cohort has always been the lowest, but since 1993, the margin of difference has grown significantly. Even in 1972, when information about parties and their platforms wasn’t as readily available as it is today, roughly 70 percent of 18 to 24 year olds made it to the polls. In 2011’s federal election—with information literally at our fingertips—only 38 percent decided to vote.

With the federal election fast approaching, there has been a lot of focus on the millennial vote, or lack thereof. 

Some young people admit to being apathetic, while some plead ignorance. Others simply chalk it up as their way of going against the status quo, and some echo the sentiment expressed in the letter from Hub and Maggie Hughes: there isn’t enough choice.

Although my date of birth narrowly excludes me from the cohort, I can understand why many millennials have little desire to participate in politics. We see Stephen Harper offering seniors and young families handouts, while Thomas Mulcair is proposing $15-a-day childcare, and Justin Trudeau focuses on the middle class. With the exception of Elizabeth May’s pledge to eliminate tuition fees, there hasn’t been much talk about what our political leaders will do for Canada’s 18 to 24 year olds.

Perhaps millenials are feeling a little ignored, but what can one expect when little more than a third of them opt to vote?

Could it be that the people in this demographic are being ignored because they aren’t speaking up? If young adults continue this trend of abstinence, the government will follow their lead.  

It stands to reason that if we are indeed in the 'age of information', pleading ignorance is no longer an option. If millenials would spend even a small portion of time on their handheld devices looking at party platforms instead of on Facebook, perhaps our political leaders would pay more attention to them.

To quote Hub and Maggie, the choice is yours.