By LIZ SWERN
STAFF WRITER
In Washington D.C. the congressional elections are causing a frenzy on Capitol Hill. But among disenfranchised college students, these elections are barely an afterthought and not a priority in their lives.
After an uproar of voting within the young generation during the last presidential election, one would think students still care just as much about how their country is run. But the harsh truth is, many just don’t follow politics.
“It was hard not to follow the Obama election. News on it was everywhere. Everything going on was drilled into our heads repeatedly. But this? I don’t even know when Congress elections are,” West Chester University student Kendall Gearren said.
Gearren noted that people only vote on what they know, and also that the younger generation is lacking in its knowledge of modern politics.
President Barack Obama became a celebrity when he ran for office just by the sheer fact that, like many other famous celebrities, young people were familiar with him and expressed interest in him.
But in actuality many young people still just knew his name and face — and nothing else. “I’d never voted before. I walked into the polls and just picked Obama’s name cause I recognized it,” Gearren said. “But I wouldn’t be able to tell you who’s even in the congressional elections, let alone who I’d vote for.”
Many students, like Gearren, simply just do not know who is actually running in the Congressional elections. Some of those that do just happen to be in the right place at the right time.
Twenty-year-old Adrian Salcedo works in a sporting goods store next to the office of Rep. John Adler of New Jersey’s 3rd district in Marlton, N.J. “I’d see protesters every once in a while outside the office. I don’t know why. I really didn’t bother to look.” Salcedo said.
When asked why he didn’t look further into it, Salcedo replied, “I was busy. I had other things to do, like get to work.”
The reason is not only that young people are uninformed on the topic of politics by the lack of schooling, but also they merely don’t put in the proactive effort themselves to learn.
“It’s April. Those elections are when? November. Right now, I’m only focused on finals and finishing the semester. I don’t even want to think past May,” Rutgers Camden sophomore, Jenna Cotton said.
For college students, it boils down to what’s important, and what can wait. At the moment, students are focused on schoolwork, exams, classes, and graduating. Voting on a congressman is just not in their state of mind.
In fact, it may as well be on another planet. “Some of my friends look at me like I’m an alien with three heads when I talk politics,” Political Science major Eric Solomon said. “I know I’m part of the tiny minority of students here that cares. But I’m a poli-sci major. I want a job in politics, so it’s really a necessity to be interested.”
History professor Eric Krastek of Burlington County College reasons that this lack of interest in the congressional elections comes from where a student is in his or her life.
“At that age, they’re busy planning their own private lives, not voting for the entire nation’s,” Krastek said. “College students are starting careers and new relationships. Most will wait until they’re older and settled into their own lives before following the nation’s leaders.”
“Many political issues just don’t affect them on a high enough level right now. Students are still covered under their parents for almost everything. So they choose to invest their interest in other things.” Krastek said.
Gearren agrees with Krastek on the fact that students are still a little too young to have politics be a top priority in their lives.
“For the time being, my top governing body — unfortunately — is still my mom. If I could vote for her, I would in a second," he said. "But Congress? Why? My congressman doesn’t pay for my car insurance or do my laundry. At least, as far as I know.” |
