For once, we won. On April 6, residents of St. Louis County cast their ballots in favor of public transit, voting for a half-cent sales tax increase in order to provide necessary funding for area metro services. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, this will go to generate $75 million in a year to bring back services that were cut after a similar measure failed in 2008, as well as to increase bus transit, which goes far more places than the light rail system.
Students, both at Saint Louis University and Washington University, carried out much of the advocacy for this issue; they were mainly the ones who organized the City Tracks Soundtracks music festival, and who handed out buttons and created Facebook campaigns to spread the message. After all, students are largely affected by the public transportation infrastructure; many do not have cars, at least not in this city, and others are hurt by high gas prices.
So aside from our obsession with reality television and texting while driving, we students managed to do some good. We stood up and spoke out about an issue that greatly affected our lives, and in doing so, along with the rest of the community, we managed to pass an integral piece of legislation and give a boost to a transportation system that greatly needed it.