Welcome back Golden Grizzlies! Welcome to the Fall 2016 Semester. Welcome to another semester full of opportunities to get educated and gain knowledge. While everyone gets prepared for their new classes and acquainted with their new professors, I’d like to present you with another opportunity to get educated this semester.

Welcome back to the Oakland Post’s Political Focus column. With the 2016 Election fast approaching, I encourage all members of the Oakland community to join me on my quest for political knowledge this semester. Each week, I will examine a political issue relevant to the upcoming election. After researching the topic, interviewing experts and gathering as much information as possible, I will present you, my readers, with an unbiased, all-sided examination of the issue in each week’s edition of the Oakland Post.

For many students, this will be the first general election that you can hit the voting booth. This is the first general election that you have power. I encourage you to not only register so you can use that power but seek as much information on the issues as possible to ensure you are handling that power responsibly. Search for news harder than scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed. Download news outlets’ apps instead of the newest trendy time-wasting game. And pick up a copy of each week’s Oakland Post. Take some time to read Political Focus and reflect on your opinion of the issue.

Welcome to the Fall 2016 semester. It’s time to get informed.