Loyola students: we are falling victims to a social epidemic.

The effects of this epidemic are not as obvious as wearing Crocs or liking Justin Bieber, but they are just as ugly. Even though our generation is partly defined by its outspoken demeanor, we still seem to have given in to apathy and disillusionment when it comes to the American political system.

As a result, we are willingly allowing elderly folks and political radicals, who have some of the highest voter turnouts, to hijack the very systems we are apathetic about yet are inevitably entangled in.

Sure, we are educated about political issues — and we don’t even have to rely on a traditional news model to be knowledgeable about what’s going on in Capitol Hill. The Jon Stewarts, Bill Mahers and Rush Limbaughs of the world make sure of that. Besides this, we have technology to our advantage. Apps such as iCitizen allow users to find out the voting habits and campaign contributions of their local, state and national representatives and senators. In our day and age, there is hardly an excuse for either ignorance or inaction.

Instead of encouraging us, however, our knowledge only seems to contribute to our disillusionment. Though it is easy to be disillusioned, it is still unacceptable to ignore it.

The latest U.S. census stated that 18-24 year olds compose nearly 10 percent of the population and the Huffington Post recently reported that Congress officially has a worse approval rating than that of Jar-Jar Binks. This would lead you to think that our age group would be more active in the running of our country, state and especially the city that many of us now consider our home

Though I tend to judge politicians’ abilities on whether or not they can beat Kim Kardashian at chess, I myself haven’t done as much as I could have to stop their inadequacies and curb their ineffectual legislation.

While I stress that I am not an ageist, I do believe that at least some of our nation’s established politicians have about the same amount of knowledge about social and political issues as the average well-informed young adult.

We are a generation full of opinions and confidence, seen in our heavy use of emoticons and selfies. We have the world at our fingertips and whether or not we choose to seek them, politics, current events and general news always come to us. We have harnessed the power of a globalized world and are at the forefront of real historical change. We are the future movers and shakers of the world.

There’s an important election coming up on Nov. 4. This election not only will decide the fate of our Congress, but it will have further implications concerning President Barack Obama’s legacy, the future of both domestic and foreign affairs and how the next two, four, even six years go.

I urge you to register to vote, get your absentee voter cards and do your research. Don’t satisfy yourself with being another commentator on the Internet. Instead, vote as if the future depends on it.

Because, after all, it sort of does.