Perspective: In Search of Young Voters

As Bergin O'Malley trudged through the snow on a cold January day, she realized why the majority of young voters were at home in front of their televisions instead of standing next to her, waving colorful campaign posters at passersby. "The whole time I was thinking, 'Is this how we get our votes? How will this make a difference?'" the Columbia junior said, reflecting back on her New Hampshire experience volunteering for the Bill Bradley campaign. O'Malley is not alone in her revelation. Many college students across the country are trying to make their voices heard and get their peers involved. And many others say they don't care at all about who moves into the White House next year. With the first presidential election of the century looming on the horizon, students, organizations and political candidates alike are struggling to mobilize what have historically been apathetic young voters. As Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain fight for the bid of the Republican Party, and Vice President Al Gore competes with former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley for the Democratic slot, many of America's students have only been watching the races from the comfort of their own homes. But while the candidates don't always agree on lowering taxes or subsidizing college education, they are all working to get young people off their couches and into the voting booths. "There are 25 million 18-24 year olds in this nation," said Andrea Jones, national youth coordinator for McCain 2000. "If they decided collectively, they could choose a candidate together and have that candidate win." It was just decades ago that college campuses were characterized as bastions of political involvement. The universities of the 1960s saw riots, sit-ins, peaceful protests and tear gassings with an eerie regularity. But since then, voter participation among 18-to-24 year olds has been steadily and significantly declining. In the 1996 presidential election, according to the coalition group Youth Vote 2000, less than one-sixth of the eligible voters in the 18-to-24 age range actually voted. And in 1998, only 15 percent of young people showed up at the polls on election day. Experts claim youth turnout is so low because politicians fail to address issues that affect young voters or to campaign through media outlets, like MTV or Cosmopolitan, that are geared toward young people. "Youth don't vote because they don't think the candidates care about them," Youth Vote 2000 spokesman John Dervin said, adding that in return, "The candidates don't target them because they don't vote." "At some point somebody needs to step forward to break this cycle," he added. This failure to communicate often means candidates do not relate issues to college students' lives, losing the interest of many potential young voters. "Perspective is key," explained Aili Langseth, youth inclusion director of Project Vote Smart, an organization designed to educate voters. "When politicians talk about the economy they usually talk about Social Security or today's prosperity," she said. "But students don't look at the economy that way. They look to see if there are going to be jobs for them when they graduate." Other experts say the problem lies not only in the message, but in the medium. Young voters feel alienated simply because candidates do not transmit their messages through youth-oriented media outlets, said Richard Thau, president of Third Millennium -- a group that aims to inspire young people to get politically involved. "What you need are ads running on the WB and Fox. You need to be putting a lot of banner ads on Internet sites that target teens," he said. Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of Southern Florida, said politicians have underestimated the power of the Internet as a way to reach young voters. "All the candidates have finally realized that this is not something you can put number five" on the priority list, she said. But, as several students and experts said, perhaps the entire process of democracy just is not suited to students' mobile lifestyles. Ryan Hayden, a sophomore at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California, recalled that last week a fellow student could not register to vote because it would jeopardize his residency status in his home state. "[He] found out that if [he] registered in California? he would have to get new license plates for his car at home," Hayden said. "The political process isn't suited for college students who move around frequently," he added. In light of these challenges, several groups are trying to convince students that, in the end, their involvement matters. One such organization, Youth Vote 2000, has brought together about 51 national organizations to prove, as their spokesman said, that "youth do care." The coalition has sponsored youth training conventions in New Hampshire and Iowa designed to teach students how to discuss issues with candidates, increase political activity at their colleges and, above all, make their voices heard, Dervin said. Neglection 2000, a project sponsored by Third Millennium, has taken a somewhat different approach. Thau said his group is trying to make the candidates use their campaign funds to target all voters, rather than just those who historically vote. "If one of the parties made a $10 million contribution to youth for the next few years, they'd see an immediate response," Dervin agreed. With New Hampshire and Iowa behind them and the Super Tuesday primaries fast approaching, the presidential frontrunners are developing strategies to get young voters in their headquarters for the final campaign stretch. All four candidates have Web sites designed to aid student volunteers in creating a campus movement to support their candidate of choice -- which, students say, are effective. "It's easy to start a group at any campus," O'Malley explained. "When I wanted to start a Bradley group at Columbia, all I had to do was go to his Web site, download a kit and follow the instructions." McCain's volunteers will be co-sponsoring voter registration "derby days" with college fraternities and sororities nationwide, pitting the greek organizations against each other in a contest to register voters, Jones said. While Gore's campaign will also challenge schools to sign up voters through a similar competition -- grouping schools by athletic conference -- Students for Gore coordinator Allison Friedman said that is not all Gore wants from young people. "We've had students in Iowa and New Hampshire canvassing, making phone calls and acting as field organizers," she said. But, in the end, it is unclear whether the candidates are doing what it takes to captivate the younger generation. Karl Von Vorys, a Penn Political Science professor, said the presidential campaigns simply are not idealistic enough to make America's youth care. "Young people like to get involved with causes -- and this is not a cause," he explained, adding that the race's lack of idealism has kept candidates from successfully reaching young voters. Regardless of organizational sway or candidates' efforts at getting young people involved, it is the students themselves that have to prove to the candidates that they are willing to get out and vote. At Penn, students have formed official student groups supporting Bush, Gore, Bradley and McCain. As part of their campaign push, each group sent supporters to volunteer at the New Hampshire primaries. College junior Beth Harkavy, one of several Penn students who traveled to the primaries to support Bradley, said the most memorable part of the weekend was spending the night in a New England Boys and Girls Club. "There were like 500 kids, and we were all crowded together in our sleeping bags," she said. "There was so much enthusiasm and spirit." That kind of energy is exactly what many politically active students, including those at Penn, want to share with their peers. College senior Patrick Ruffini, leader of Penn Students for Bush, said his group will set up a voter registration table on Locust Walk in the coming months to help with voter registration and absentee ballots. The other groups are planning similar drives. "During the fall, groups [on Locust Walk] registered more than 700 voters for the mayoral election," said Harkavy, who also helped campaign for Mayor John Street. "The mayoral election was close -- those votes mattered." And the groups provide more than just voter registration forms. They are all devoted to educating the student body about their candidates. According to College sophomore Matthew Oresman, co-chair of Bill Bradley for President at Penn, these efforts do have an impact. "The first day we were tabling for Bradley we had a girl who had formerly voted Republican come up to me and ask me why she should vote for Bill Bradley," Oresman recalled. "And we sat there and talked about it for a long time. That happens a lot. Now she comes to a lot of political events to support Bradley," he added. The success of these students will not truly be apparent until November when the effect of the youth vote -- which Ruffini has dubbed the "sleeping giant" of the upcoming election -- can accurately be assessed. "When we do come out, we can make our voices heard and really surprise people," he promised.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.