Students need to become more aware of and more involved in politics, according to a group of state and local Democrats running for office.

Speakers at last week’s forum sponsored by NIU’s Young Democrats included NIU law student Robert Tisch, State Sen. Patrick Welch, D-Peru, and Susan M. Johnson, Democratic candidate for DeKalb county clerk.

“We as students not only have to get ourselves involved, but we must get other students involved,” Tisch said.

Students do not have a voice in government because they do not vote, Tisch said.

Tisch is running against Republican Brad Burzinski for the 76th district state representative seat being vacated by Rep. John Countryman, R-DeKalb.

Johnson, who is running against Republican Chief Deputy Clerk Sharon Holmes, is a lifetime resident of DeKalb, and said active NIU students can make a difference.

The student vote was a major factor in the 1976 election of a Democrat in a high profile county race, Johnson said. All of the candidates agreed 1990 is another key election for DeKalb Democrats.

Tisch said there are many reasons for students to vote in November. He said changes in the general assembly must include more legislators who are sympathetic to student needs.

Welch said he has introduced several measures in the Illinois General Assembly in support of student needs that have passed.

Incumbent Welch, who is running against Republican Nancy Beasley, said the teacher fluency bill he introduced, which requires all Illinois teachers to speak fluent English, became a law only after the legislature overrode Gov. James Thompson’s veto.

He said many students complained about having to take an extra semester because they could not understand their teachers’ accents and did not pass.

Also, Welch said the state now has reciprocal agreements with other states allowing Illinois to collect student loans from former student loan recipients even if they live and work out of state.

Before his reciprocal loan enforcement bill was passed, Illinois usually didn’t get back the money it loaned.

YD Chairman Brad Strauss said the group will be holding a major voter registration drive across campus and DeKalb during the next four weeks.