By FRED RICHANI
STAFF WRITER
Many Rutgers University students were disinterested in the 2010 New Jersey Congressional races and chose not to vote on Election Day.
Students say they did not vote because of inconvenient poll hours, too much school work, lack of information and disenfranchisement.
Between school work and part- and full-time jobs, it can be difficult for students to balance political awareness in their already hectic lives.
Like many of his fellow students, senior education major Patrick George did not vote in the election. Education funding was one of the biggest issues covered before the election.
But George says he could not make the polls due to inconvenient hours.
“As a guy whose dad is a police chief and someone who is going into education, I really should have voted this year,” the Freehold native regretfully said. “I didn't think about voting until it was too late and I realized the poll hours interfered with my class schedule. The hours weren't convenient at all.”
He says he is more regretful because the hot button issues in the election, economy and education, directly affect him and his family.
He brought up his father's job situation as an example. “If anything, I'll look into having an absentee ballot [next election],” George said. “Besides the education issue, I should have voted for someone based on the economy. My dad could have had his police career cut short this year with the amount of layoffs going on.”
Not all students are as regretful as George for not voting. Some did not even know there was an election going on until the day of, like Rutgers junior Jessica Paris because of her workload.
“I've never been into politics,” Paris said. “I feel like they [politicians] never talk about anything that relates to me. I don't even watch the news that much. Plus, I had midterms to worry about anyway.”
For students looking to learn about candidates, political media can sometimes create more disinterest than enthusiasm.
“I tried to learn about who's running but every news station [FOX, CNN, MSNBC, etc.] has a different view and opinion of everybody,” junior Jason Padin said about the political media coverage. “It's hard to know who the hell is for this issue and that.”
The frustration is clear on Padin's face when talking about the emotional disconnect with politicians. “I'm 21 years old,” Padin said. “Why the [expletive] should I worry about social security?”
Sophomore Kelsey Flanigan feels disconnected too, and was not able to relate to almost any politicians, so she simply tunes politics out.
“I'm not even allowed to drink yet, so it's hard to relate to these older politicians talking about property taxes and stuff like that,” Flanigan said. “When my parents put on CNN or FOX News, I just blank out because I have no idea what these guys are saying.”
Senior Samantha Galla is a psychology major who also finds it hard to relate to politicians in any way. When Galla is not focusing on her major, she spends most of her time working in retail or babysitting her younger siblings while her parents work long hours.
Her time is valuable, but not to politicians, she says. “I know voting is a privilege, but why abuse it if I have no idea what the candidates are talking about?” Galla questioned.
“If I even have enough time to sit and pay attention to the elections, all they talk about are issues on the elderly or pulling out of a war we've been in for almost 10 years. There's nothing about college students.”
Brookdale Community College graduate and Rutgers transfer student Phillip Obermeyer is very involved in political awareness as a member of the Young Republicans Club. He can be often seen at the Lincroft campus urging people to register to vote no matter the political party.
However, Obermeyer says he sees the same problem with Brookdale's students as he does with Rutgers on voting. “Whether you're a Democrat, Republican, Independent, whatever, it's your duty to go out and vote,” Obermeyer said. “There's no excuses. I'm 21 and I vote.”
Obermeyer gives his fellow students what he calls the best advice during election season, but admits it mostly falls on deaf ears. “I try to tell students 'go out of your way to get educated.' Join clubs. If you don't like FOX News or CNN, go somewhere else [to get information]. It's called the Internet.”
Time management is supposed to be senior Eugene Tarkatov's best quality, but even he thinks there are not enough hours in the day to focus on politics.
“I used to tell myself if I want the time for anything, I have to make the time,” said Taraktov, a self-proclaimed time-manager. “I said that about politics too. Then I got a full-time job, an internship, and became a full-time student in less than a year and realized I really have no time."
Rutgers Media Systems and Processes professor Steve Miller understands students' standpoints on not voting, but completely disagrees with their notions.
“Voting is a privilege anyone should take advantage of,” Miller said. “Anyone that says the issues politicians bring up don't affect them needs to rethink what they're saying.”
Miller went on to explain that many of the issues brought up in the 2010 election affect students, whether they realize it or not.
“You're telling me the economy, education and taxes don't affect students?” Miller questioned. “The direction of the economy, who's in charge of it, and the higher cost of education all directly affect students, especially in their wallets.”
Miller also offers an explanation as to why politicians cater more to older adults than students.
“The only reason politicians don't appeal to young people is because 18- to 25-year-olds don't vote [as much as older Americans]. Once more students start voting, politicians will go out of their way to relate to them more.”
Rutgers Media, Government, and Politics professor Dave Karpf knows that the lack of students voting is a major issue. He deals with young voters on a daily basis and can understand why they feel disenfranchised.
“It's hard for young and even older voters at times to decide on who to vote for these days,” Karpf said. “It's hard to get educated, especially for students, when almost every outlet online or on television is projecting just one viewpoint.”
The purpose of Karpf's course is to read into the political messages of the media and government. While it is difficult for students to gain an unbiased viewpoint on issues, Karpf says it can be done.
“The best way for people to get educated on who they're voting for is to really research and try to look at both sides of issues,” Karpf said. “But that's far easier said than done and can still leave young voters indifferent on candidates. It's hard for young voters to be enthusiastic about voting if they can't connect with the candidates.” |
