Nov. 4 will remain a historic day forever. We elected the nation’s first African-American president, something I wasn’t sure if I would see in my lifetime. Many of us are still in shock over what a momentous occasion it is — and what a decisive victory it was.

Because of the nature of this election and its record voter turnout, the makeup of the electorate was much discussed in the aftermath of Election Day.

To the majority of college students, one number of extra significance should be 23 million — the number of people in the 18-29 year old age range who showed up to cast a ballot, according to a Rock The Vote press release.

The youngest voting bloc saw a giant spike in turnout and accounted from some staggering facts:

The press release claims that voters in this previously apathetic age category made up 18 percent of the electorate. (An estimated 133.3 million overall showed up at the polls to voice their opinions.) Also, the press release mentions, 66 percent of voters from this age category voted for Barack Obama, thus helping him significantly in his decisive victory.

It seems that there was much more of an outreach to the youth this election, as well as more issues that we cared about. One such outreach event at ASU was the Rock The Vote concert put on by the Tempe campus’ Programming and Activities Board and Undergraduate Student Government.

The attendance numbers show the youth excitement about voting. “We were between 1,500 and 1,800 students, which is a pretty good turnout,” said Andrew Nees, a PAB member who worked with Rock The Vote.

Information was handed out at a fair before the event to educate students, including sample ballots and proposition packets. But the outreach didn’t stop there. “Volunteers got phone numbers so they could text message voters the day before or the day of [the election] reminding them to vote,” Nees said.

These friendly reminders helped voter turnout, as I know that I, for one, have trouble remembering the smallest things sometimes. They also made sure students knew their polling locations. “We had laptops set up to tell people where they could vote,” said Brendan O’Kelly, USG chief of staff.

As far as the actual concert went, the general consensus was that the bands — Coheed and Cambria, Cartel and Stiletto Formal — all excited students about voting without necessarily advocating a certain party, candidate or platform.

This helped it remain a non-partisan event, which I believe was very important to its success; it is crucial that voters educate themselves and make up their own minds. This is just one event that reflected the enthusiasm of voters our age.

But beyond events such as Rock The Vote concerts, there was added incentive that makes sense for why so many younger voters were driven to the polls. Some of the key issues of the campaigns helped.

Health care, the war in Iraq, education and the economy seemed to be the student’s top priorities. For example, in Nashville, Tenn., where the second presidential debate took place, a student-led coalition met the night before the debate to advocate better student health care. There has been plenty of talking and protesting about here on campus as well.

As we launch into an unprecedented era in American politics, it is important that we all stay as involved as we were on Election Day. When we speak as one, our voice is loud.

Change has been promised in this election, but it can only come if we keep our voice loud. These next four years can be historic and I don’t know what other people’s intentions are, but I plan to be in the thick of it.

Andrew can be reached by e-mail at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu.