America has a nepotism problem, and that’s a fact.

In a New York Times column, columnist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz shared an in-depth piece displaying with big data why America is destined for a Jeb Bush/Hillary Clinton presidential election in 2016. More importantly, Stephens-Davidowitz’s big data column questioned Americans on why we continue to let this be a problem.

Nepotism comes from the 17th Century when popes would bestow upon their nephews the power of being a cardinal. Having a certain last name within the church proved extremely powerful when it came time to name the next pope. Fast forward to the 21st Century, and the same thing is happening — to an extent — in American politics.

Stephens-Davidowitz’s data focused on the baby boomer era and mainly father/son duos because female figures were not prominent during that time period. The data showed 13 sons of presidents were born during the baby boomer era, and one of those — George W. Bush — became president. The odds of “boomer man matching his father’s achievement” was 1 in 9. That’s compared to a 1 in 258,141 chance for the average boomer son. How bout them apples?

According to this data, Americans will look at the ballot in 2016 and see “Bush” and “Clinton.” Some will associate Iraq War, 9/11, ignorance, leader, George H. W. Bush with Jeb, and others will think Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, scandal and most importantly, woman. These are all things that come associated with the names, but have nothing to do with how either candidate will run the country. Let us not forget the other candidates who have had their names in the nepotism pot. Unintentionally, but nonetheless become part of our problem.

We have a lot of problems these days, it seems. From this editorial’s call to sexual assaults in yesterday’s paper, to this problem and everything in between. However, this “voting based on name” issue can be stopped by one extremely important object.

Education.

We can’t continue voting based on name, physical appearance, race, sloppy attack ads and what our parents tell us about a candidate. We need to start now, in 2015, researching and listening in on what candidates have done and what candidates are telling us they’re going to do.

When the time comes, we need to be educated. And that’s not anyone else’s duty but our own. Maybe Bush and Clinton will be the best combination. But in order to find the true, logical candidates, Americans will need to take the proper and necessary time to educate themselves on each of the candidates. The millennial generation has a chance in 2016 to turn the tables on how we elect the next president of the United States.

If it comes down to a vote for Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton, make sure that the image of the leader that you have in mind stands alone and is a valid candidate based in their own principles. Do not apply to them the characteristics of their fathers, husbands or brothers.

Judge Clinton based on her time spent as part of the presidential cabinet, how you feel she handled international relations and the Benghazi attack and where you fall in the debate on her decision to keep all of her government emails on a private account.

When considering Bush, remember his role in introducing and perpetuating the controversial “stand your ground” laws in Florida, his connection to the Enron scandal and his overall distaste for labor and education unions.

Know the true identities of the candidate you support rather than simply relying on previous associations based on last names. 2016 presents us with the chance to put an end to the incessant and damaging nepotism that Americans have been embracing.