By Colter Hettich, Features Editor
Explain to 24-year-old Kirk Coffee how, historically, apathetic his generation should be toward this presidential election. Then, in one breath, he will explain why his generation does not care what you say.
“I really could care less about parties. It’s about what’s best for the nation,” Coffee said.
Coffee, sophomore political science major from San Antonio, joined the U.S. Army just before turning 19. He always had wanted to enlist but did not mind leaving politics to the bureaucrats. But after skipping the 2004 presidential election because he felt illinformed, Coffee vowed to challenge issues and candidates with his own views.
“I started figuring out what I was about,” Coffee said. “I want to be a responsible citizen and I didn’t want to vote if I didn’t know what I was talking about.”
Coffee, whose wife is serving in Iraq, now volunteers five hours a week at the Taylor County Republican Headquarters. Like hundreds of thousands of men and women of his generation, Coffee’s desire to make a difference led him to a party – not the reverse.
CIRCLE, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, released a fact sheet in June 2008 titled “The Youth Vote in the 2008 Primaries and Caucuses.” According to the report, more than 6.5 million people under the age of 30 participated in the 2008 primaries and caucuses. This is the first time since 18-to-20 year olds were allowed to vote that youth turnout has increased three election cycles in a row.
Both candidates have acknowledged the importance of winning the 18-30 year-old vote. At a July town hall meeting in Ohio, according to cnn.com, a student told Sen. John McCain that Republicans were a dying breed on his campus.
“I understand the challenge I have and I understand that this election is really all about the people of your generation,” McCain said.
Of the 17 states in which exit polls also were conducted in 2000, 16 saw increases in youth turnout, and in some of these states, youth turnout tripled or quadrupled. Overall, the youth voter turnout rate rose from nine percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2008. Texas saw an 11 percentage-point increase from 172,000 in 2000 to 620,000 in 2008.
Alex Orlowski, senior political science and sociology major at the University of Dayton, participated in “Millennials Talk politics: A Study of College Student Political Engagement.” It emulated a 1993 study conducted by the Harwood Group titled “College Students Talk Politic.” The Harwood to change things for the better, but few identified themselves with a party.
“From our study, overwhelmingly, it was we want reform and to make things better,” Orlowski said. “Most of the students were saying we don’t like this idea of old, white haired guys in a closed room bickering back and forth.”
Sixty percent of the Democratic youth vote went for Obama, 38 percent for Clinton and one percent for Edwards. The Republican youth vote proved a much closer contest with McCain receiving 34 percent, Huckabee 31 percent, Romney 25 percent and Paul 10 percent, according to Edison/ Mitofsky exit polls.
In the battle for the young vote, one word has risen above the rhetoric to the forefront of political debate.
“The big word with the millennial generation is change,” Orlowski said. “It is the big word that Obama and McCain have fought over and that has been a direct appeal to the millennial generation.”
This generation has greeted the message of change with open arms. The sheer number of youth who voted in the primaries proves they believe in this abstract idea of change. In the Oct. 6 issue of Newsweek, Jonathan Darman, Newsweek senior writer
and political correspondent, wrote “A Letter To My Generation.” He congratulated young Americans on showing up for this year’s political contest.
“You’ve done what no one thought was possible: you’ve made politics seem cool again,” Darman wrote. “And really, if we’re honest, that’s all you’ve done this year – show up.”
The radical turn this demographic’s attitude has taken toward political involvement is what has grabbed the country’s attention. But Darman warned against the dangers of such a following.
“Your biggest failure: you’ve hardly asked Obama for a thing,” he said. “To get the best of Obama, young people, cut out the blind devotion . If you really want to be the change you’ve been wating for, start holding Obama to some of his promises to our generation.”
Many Democratic supporters have expressed their concern with the lemming-like behavior of some young voters, especially college-age. Kristina Campos, assistant professor of communication and Honors College, serves as faculty adviser of the ACU College Democrats, a group she rechartered in 1996. She and Dr. Neal Coates, associate professor of political science, set up a voter registration table in March and registered 250 voters in less than two and a half hours.
“I’m always fearful of voters who vote without having done any research,” Campos said. “Single-issue voting or voting for party’s sake is never good.”
Although youth have a reputation for political apathy and indifference, Campos said this generation has broken the trend. Instead of being motivated by allegiance to an organization or party, the millennial generation sees politics as a platform for its
true concern.
“If anything, I think this has less to do with a political party and more to do with the fact that this generation of students is much more socially conscious,” Campos said. “College students don’t care as much about politics as they care about humanity. Politics is seen as an avenue for that.”
On Sept. 14, an Associated Press story examined young evangelicals’ reactions to McCain’s selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. In the story, Gabe Lyons, author and founder of the Fermi Project, confirmed Campos’ assessment by saying what has truly attracted young evangelicals to Palin.
“Young evangelicals aren’t identifying as much with Palin’s evangelicalism as with her emblematic role as everyday American,” Lyons said. “This isn’t a faith response, it’s a
human response.”
Technology also has played a significant role in helping the candidates reach a traditionally hard-to-reach group.
On Sept. 23, Michael Moore released his latest documentary film, “Slacker Uprising,” as a free download. The film broke all download record charts for feature film releases within the first couple of hours. Moore chose to release his movie in such a fashion for one reason: young voters.
“The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November,” Moore said in a statement.
The economy of Lebanon, Va., received a boost when two high-tech companies arrived. But this arrival of technology has helped Obama in a state that overwhelmingly voted Clinton in the primary and a rural area that has leaned toward Republican in presidential elections. The hightech industries prompted Obama to make four stops in western Virginia and provide information technology training programs at nearby colleges.
More importantly, Lebanon Mayor Toni Dodi said, “It has energized our young people.”
New technology may have energized Lebanon’s youth, but hundreds of thousands of students and 18 to 30 year olds across the country are amped about the 2008 election. As the calendar creeps toward Nov. 4, young voters increasingly hope to leave their mark on this historic contest.
