The divide between 'town' and 'gown' is one of Cambridge’s worst traditions. Packed into the city centre for eight-week periods, consumed by hectic academic and social schedules, the undergraduates at Cambridge University are often completely disconnected from the wider community. The short terms, long reading lists and insular social networks can create a boarding-school mentality among the students. Add the gowns, bops and swaps, and it becomes almost impossible for students to live outside ‘the bubble’.

Even in institutions without so many alienating traditions, students are a pretty isolated group, which forecasts dismal consequences for the UK’s democracy. Seemingly convinced that politics doesn't involve them, relatively few actually turn out to vote in local and national elections. Perhaps the mobile nature of student life explains this. Undergraduates are split between home and university. Lacking a permanent residence, they may not be hugely invested in their local communities. So, they are perhaps not as motivated to vote as those who have stronger ties to their constituency.

In the 2010 general election, the turnout among voters aged 18-24 was just 52 per cent – the lowest of any age group. Although not everyone in this age bracket goes to university, a significant majority do.

Theories about why this is happening are generally far more unpleasant than what I propose. The most cited cause is apathy, which is generally taken to mean that students are lazy or ignorant, if not both. But it is clear that students do care about politics – students were as keen to take part in the Scottish independence referendum as the rest of the country. Clearly, young people appreciated how the referendum would directly impact their lives. Given that they are such a mobile group in general – more so now than ever before – it is perhaps not so unreasonable for them to feel differently about a general election.   

The other common caricature of students is that of the witless anarchist, who either mindlessly withholds their vote out of spite or only heads to the ballot box to cast a protest vote. Russell Brand seems to think our country is full of these people: the silent, revolutionary majority. If this mystical movement does exist, it is not necessarily made up of students, however tempting that conclusion may be. Protest voters do have a political party to represent them. UKIP is eagerly harvesting the nation’s anti-establishment sentiment to push their anti-immigration agenda, but they are unlikely to build a student fan base.

Deceptive ideas like these are not only insulting, but also lead people to believe students are too stupid to participate, and that this growing problem is, therefore, unsolvable. The people losing out, of course, are the students themselves. Undergraduates everywhere are in a bubble of some kind, but it won’t insulate them from the costs and consequences of abstaining from our democracy. By not voting, they can have no influence on issues affecting them. It is the individual’s responsibility to vote, but students will only be listened to if they act together. Make sure you’re representing young people on election day - register now.