The youthful energy has died down since 2008, and their lack of consistency may portray their political sincerity.
While wandering around the East Village the other day, on an unusually warm and calm afternoon, I casually stopped over twelve people appearing youthful to ask them if they voted in the mid-term elections last week. The first ten said no. More than half blamed their voting deficiency on a lack of time and knowledge; however, each one of them had an assured opinion on Obama’s performance in the White House. And all of them, who were of age to vote two years ago, did vote in the presidential elections.
Professor Varon, a historian at the New School University, recalls that the highest number of voters of a specific group comes out when they first get the right to vote and then numbers decrease with time, this holds true in the cases of women and African Americans. Therefore, since 1972 was such an exception, the youth turn out in the 2008 elections was the highest ranking ever in a typical election year. Then just two years later these passionate youths are nowhere to be found.
William John Cox, a philosopher and political analyst, recorded that one third of the people between the ages of 18 and 29 blame Obama himself for failing to deliver on his promises that he offered during his campaign. Promises President Obama spoke of such as hope, change, and new kind of Washington immediately enchanted the youth. According to William John Cox, the youth’s quick support and then blame of one specific person lends hand to the notion that the youth are disillusioned; as the political system of the United states prevents that an individual will ever be entirely at fault.
Even in comparison to previous years, 2010’s youth vote turn out was significantly low. Mark Bauerlein, a political analyst and writer, remarks that in this mid-term election 20.9% of the youth aged people voted, compared to the 2006 youth vote rate of 25%. President Obama and other well-loved democrats, such as Bill Clinton and Vice President Biden, made appearances at various universities to impress the importance of voting. However, as the political analysts Keli Goff admits, voting is just far less intriguing without Obama on the ballot. Or as Mark Bauerlein suggests: in order to be inspired to vote, the youth must be entertained.
Young people have the tendency to vote when the political sphere emanates the pop culture sphere, when politics arrive where the youth are and are present in the pop culture activities in which the youth already participate; such as music festivals, TV shows, and sporting events. During my walk in the East Village of New York City, I talked to many non-New Yorkers, many immigrants, and even a couple who were not yet eligible to vote, and each one of their eyes lit up when I mentioned the word Obama. The expression in their eyes did not originate from complete approval or a solid understanding, this excitement entailed not much more than recognition of a household name. I suppose that it simply makes people feel good to share a connection. The president of the United States is a celebrity, and how great it is that one can proudly say while they are watching TV, “I voted for that guy.” In many ways it is a form a self-gratification, to know that you put in your two cents in what happens in the big world of Washington. Especially in regards to the youth’s understanding of politics, the attention is minimally paid to the issues and system of politics, but to the figures and happenings of the political world, as if each event marks a new episode on primetime CW.
In a recent Rock the Vote poll, 83 % of the youth believed that they have the power to change our country. So here the contradiction lies: the youth believes in the importance of the vote, but do not vote regularly. They have an opinion, yet they put no action behind it. This same poll also recorded that 69% of the youth are more cynical than they were two years ago. Throughout my brief interviews on the streets, after the word Obama was mentioned, the words following were far less enthusiastic than the expression upon hearing his name. Most people claimed they were disappointed, or shook their head from side to side, as if to say: “well so, so but I feel badly admitting that I am not all together pleased.” Then, after a bit more inquiry, my interviewees drew a blank when they were asked what exactly about Mr. Obama’s presidency has not met their expectations. I received generic responses, such as: healthcare, the war, and we are still unemployed. All of these are valid issues, but I have a feeling a foreigner could have learned the same thing from the in-flight news crossing the Atlantic.
Gary Meisel, a historian and former active member of youth politics, believes that the youth must either be inspired by tragedy to get involved in politics or have the naive hope for immediate change. He explains that the youth has always been somewhat apathetic and when they get involved, they often have a romanticized and unreal vision of what can be accomplished by the American political system. He pinpoints two recent events where the youth felt extreme danger that served as a catalyst for their sudden engagement, Pearl Harbor and 9/11. Gary Meisel claims simply that younger people are typically more impatient for change and thus more easily "disillusioned.”
The disillusionment of the youth is not an entirely new concept. Professor Varon, a historian at The New School University, explained to me that President Kennedy inspired the youth by his embodiment of youthful energy, and the youth backed him so strongly that they finally became an integral aspect of the voting arena. As positive as this movement was, he still describes it as youthful idealism. The youth focused on the issues, such as social justice and the environment, rather than on a specific party or how the political system functions. It is idealistic to focus on an issue because then the issue is viewed separate from the political system, rather than as an aspect of politics that must work with the system in order to change.
The youth can be understood as poorly informed. Said plainly by Mr. Meisel: “Many Americans do not fully appreciate how Washington works and, if they are drawn in by an issue or two, they are frequently disappointed with the way the system works.” The disillusionment is created because the youth are only knowledgeable on the surface level and naively expect immediate change in Washington. The fast pace of the campaign trail exhibits further misunderstanding, as everyday Washington does not operate so quickly. In our society today the political updates and news is constantly thrown in our faces and at such a high volume, it is almost unmanageable to navigate. Steven Peterson, a professor of politics and public affairs and Penn State University, remarks on this issue: " Often times people will listen to commentators whose views they agree with. Given the fragmentation of cable that means you won't hear other views. Some of us pay attention to info we don't agree with anyhow by being able to choose who you listen to, people are less likely to hear opposing perspectives, less likely to have a full sense of what's at stake of important issues of the day."
The youth possess all of the tools to be well informed, and have all of the resources to become involved and knowledgeable, yet they do not seem to be making use of these materials. With all of these new live action media outlets like live bogging, on-the-scene international reporting, mobile updates and live news feeds, that the youth of today have access to so much that the comprehension level lacks depth. My sixty something year old uncle remarks: “I believe the youth of today has a much more difficult time discerning the truth of all that is available. Probably because it wasn’t being presented in real time, there was a certain amount of verification vetting that occurred with the official news sources of my youth that is not at all present in today’s information. Even the evening news on TV had a more balanced presentation of the “news” than today’s shows that tend to only focus on the sensational.”
My uncle has the knowledge of experience and time on his side, such attributes that the youth simply cannot acquire. The youth could potentially acquire accurate resources though, and there is absolutely nothing preventing their engagement to be realistic. That would, however, require the youth to be more serious. And since an MTV intern states: “We just wanted to have fun with this election. The Presidential election was so overwhelming in so many ways, we decided that 2010 should focus more on the music.” I do not foresee that happening anytime soon.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Youth Vote 2.0
The outcome of the 2008 Presidential election changed history and gave hope to many young Americans because Barack Obama was elected the first African- American president on November 4, 2008. On January 20, 2009 Obama was sworn in taking over for George W. Bush. As I watched on TV along with billions of other people, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a sigh that finally someone would change the fate of our country that had fallen apart, finally someone who knows what he is doing. Over the next two years the man who once captured the hearts of the American people with his eloquent speaking and dedication to the people has come to resemble a teleprompter and the promises he made have fallen short of what he pledged.
“He has done nothing to help this country, I’m looking forward to a new president in a few years” said Steven Melrose, 21, from Portland, Maine showing his blatant disappointment in President Obama.
The 2008 Presidential election had a record number of voters, the youth vote being a Democratic majority because Obama connected with young adults. The youth demographic being ages 18-29, he gave the generation of youth a sense of hope and a chance for change, the feeling that change was possible. His slogan was the inspirational “yes we can.”
Obama was so popular that parents dressed their children in clothes with his face, bumper stickers lined cars, and many even missed school to witness the making of history with his inauguration. The man was so charismatic moms would camp out to get the chance to have Obama hold their babies, reminiscent of the days of presidential celebrity like John F. Kennedy.
“Kennedy represented a new face of Washington, a young youthful guy, vitality,” explained Professor Varon of The New School.
But within the two long years that have passed from when young adults rushed out to vote making sure that Palin and McCain did not stand a chance at winning, young people have fallen silent during the recent Midterm elections. The Republicans won the House with 239 seats while the Democrats still hold the Senate population with 51 seats to the Republicans 46.
In 1971 the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 making the bracket for what was considered the youth vote significantly larger. In 1972, 25 million people were eligible to vote for the first time. While youth were activated and suppressed in their voting habits throughout the 1950’s, the early 1960’s showed new promise in encouraging the young people’s progressive voting.
Professor Varon continued, “The 60’s was driven by youthful idealism. History of the 60’s was made by youth and politics was no longer only something adults did… The youth in the sixties mobilized. There was this large group of young adults who wanted to see a change.”
Varon also stated that “by the late seventies active youth completely declined” much like the difference in today’s participation in the Midterm elections compared to the 2008 Presidential election.
The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) performed a pole and the results stated that, “an estimated 20.4 percent of young Americans under the age of 30 voted in the midterm elections, compared to 23.5 percent in the last midterm election (2006).”
However Rock The Vote, a non-profit organization, registered 300,000 new voters in time for the Midterm elections this year, a huge increase compared to 2006 that had 250,000 registered. Historically Midterm elections always bring in a smaller percentage of population votes then Presidential elections or major election cycles.
Candidates of the Midterm elections seldom did anything to make them appear to the youth demographic like Obama achieved in 2008. While Obama appeared at town hall meetings, went on talk shows, discussed his music preferences, and played basketball regularly, midterm candidates kept their running professional and didn’t take the chance to connect with the youth demographic.
When asked if she voted in the midterm elections, Diana Barton, 20, of Albany, New York said, “ No, because I didn’t have time.” But when asked about the presidential elections of 2008 she responded with, “Yes of course! I mean who didn’t vote in that election?” While her friend Allen Magnesun, 22, of New Jersey said, “Midterm elections? Didn’t know we had those.” In answering about the presidential election he said, “YES! Obama!”
Today social media outlets might be the most important aspects of campaigning because 97% of youth uses social media websites. A study conducted by Reuter Institute for the Study of Journalism reports that, “18-24 year olds receive most of their political information online and rarely read a printed newspaper or listen to radio for information.” #Election was a trending topic on Twitter, FourSquare provided an iVoted check in badge, and Facebook had an IVoted button. iPhones even had apps created by The New York Times and Wall Street Journal that monitored the elections live.
Pop culture played a significant role during the presidential elections as well. Saturday Night Live had a sketch where Tina Fey impersonated Sarah Palin while Amy Phoeler played Hillary Clinton. The skit quickly became one of the most famous and most viewed on YouTube in history. For this years midterm elections the skits were far less publicized, talked about, viewed, and were not as memorable. MTV used their Midterm election time slot to do a mock election with celebrities as the candidates such as Justin Beiber for Vice President of Pop, Maroon 5 for Senate of Pop, and the Jonas Brothers for Reps of Pop. An intern from MTV stated, “we just wanted to have fun with this election, we decided the 2010 should focus more on the music.”
Deva Woodley, a professor at the New School, said, “A certain energy is infused when youth is involved. It creates a cultural movement. Obama created a cultural movement. He was used as a figurehead.”
However one candidate, Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY), took some steps in motivating democratic youth by visiting universities in an attempt to rally the students to vote for him. Former president Bill Clinton joined Bishop at Stony Brook University urging students to share the message of the importance of voting with their friends on Facebook, Twitter, on YouTube, and through emails.
Heather Smith of Rock the Vote said, “These young people are willing to participate and be active by nature, but they are not going to show up unless they are invited.”
Alex Youth Vote 2.0
I spent my freshmen year at Bennington College, in Bennington Vermont. The school was aesthetically over-stimulating, speckled with New England clapboard houses, vermillion Adirondack chairs, and purposefully antiqued signs. The school, literally poised above the rest of the town, earned its title, in Forbes Magazine, as one of the United States’ most expensive colleges in 2007. In addition to its price tag, the college was known for its homogony, as it was said to have more species of birds on campus than minorities. This bucolic microcosm would be the backdrop of my experience in the 2008 Presidential Elections.
There was no doubt in my mind, that the majority of Bennington’s student body would be checking the “Barack Obama” box during the voting season. The school, renown for its indoor smoking dorms and clothing optional policies, lacked political diversity. At lunchtime on November 4th, 2008, I asked my table of six peers: “So, who voted?” I found this inquiry to be more humorous than it was an actual concern. My peers looked back at me with blank stares, each coming up with various excuses as to why their absentee ballot did not reach them. That night these same people shed their clothes, set off fireworks and ran off into Vermont’s misty plains in celebration of Obama’s victory. As my non-voting peers took two joints to the face instead of one, I asked myself: do they have the right to celebrate?
The mid term elections suggested a similar sense of apathy from the youth, but without any celebration. According to civicyouth.org, 20.9 % of Americans under the age of thirty voted in the midterm elections. With minimal input from the unengaged youth, the Republican party swept the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. Republicans gained open senate seats in Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio, Florida and Utah. Democrats held on to important states, such as California and New York. In Delaware, Chris Coons beat the tea party supported Christine O’Donnell, and similar Democratic victories were seen in Connecticut as Dick Blumenthal beat wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon. In California, Barbara Boxer triumphed over Carly Fiorino.
Steven Peterson, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Penn State, is not shaken by these facts. “I’m not surprised by the lower youth turnout because people are more excited about the presidential elections. They follow it more, so there’s a greater political interest, so there’s a greater overall turnout vote.”
Contrarily, Professor David Plotke, chair of committee on historical studies at the New School, responds with a different outlook. “Young people are usually less engaged by politics than older people, and it is not because they are disenchanted. They have not usually been involved much period.”
Yet, my experience at Bennington suggests something less obvious. Perhaps youth activism is only something of the past. While the minds of America’s youth are undoubtedly expanding at various institutions, could it be that youth activism’s spirit has died down? Professor Jeremy Varon, Associate Professor of history at The New School characterizes the past essence of activism: “The 60’s was driven by youthful idealism. History of the 1960’s was made by young adults, and politics was no longer something adults did.”
According to statemaster.com, the 1972 presidential elections accumulated a total of 50.3% of the youths vote. Over thirty years later, political analyst John William Cox reveals that 36% of young adults stated that it wouldn’t make a difference who they voted for. Some youth have been disillusioned even prior to Obama’s candidacy. April, a 25 year old accountant, and mother of one states: “I didn’t vote, because it dosen’t matter. Hence, Bush.”
Deva Woodley, assistant professor of Political Science at The New School for Social Research speaks to the generational discrepancy of the youth vote. “Some generations are more progressive than others, those that came of age in World War II tend to vote democrat, though now they are mostly in their 80’s, and those that came of age in 80’s tend to vote republican. Political disposition gets set pretty early on and dosen’t seem to waver.”
Some experts say that Generation Y’s disposition is largely shaped around their desire for instant gratification. This desire, perpetuated by technology, has supposedly left them disappointed with Obama’s presidency. “Often times people will listen to people whose views they agree with,” says Steven Peterson, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Penn State “Given the fragmentation of cable, that means you won’t hear other view.”
Many of the youth who voted for Obama in the presidential elections, were uninvolved during the midterm elections. “I think it was the hype during the presidential elections a couple years ago that really got me to vote. Now, I don’t really see what it was all for,” says Michelle, a 23 year old receptionist.
Is it the technology induced instant gratification that allows the youth to be more apathetic? Or rather, is it that media and the celebrity continuously, and perhaps inappropriately mingle with campaign efforts? Stars such as Oprah, and Ben Affleck displayed an obvious allegiance to president Obama. Similarly, Snoop Dog created videos in support for California’s prop 19. Social media websites have additionally installed polling applications, engaging the 97% of youth that use these social networking websites.
Rock The Vote, has been one of the major figureheads in this political niche. “There is still star power behind this election. Its especially great to see things moving virally through social networks and online after celebs share them with their fans,” claims Maegan Carberry, communications director of Rock the Vote.
However, such star power can dominate and skew the youth’s vision of politics. Most recent “politician” turned reality television star, Sarah Palin misrepresents a legitimate political agenda. Jessica Chaplin, a 24 year old from Cincinnati Ohio, did not vote in the mid term elections. Yet, when asked if she voted in the presidential election she stated: “Yes, because Sarah Palin would have ruined everyone’s lives.”
This is not to say that star power, was not driving force in the 1972 presidential election. The power however, was more representative of political vitality, than exploited political outlandishness.
Gary Meisel who is now an executive at Warner Brothers in Los Angeles, veered from the campus norm, of that era and was active in the 1972 Hubert Humphrey campaign, instead of supporting George McGovern as did most of his peers. “To the extent the youth do get involved, they are typically more left or right than in the middle, since those that get attracted at that age are generally caught up in the basis of an issue.”
Some youth, however, are not even engaged with the fundamentals of the midterm elections. Claiborne, a 20-year-old Starbucks barista, didn’t vote and admitted, “I didn’t even know who was running.”
Nevertheless, Analyst William John Cox believes that the youth vote is substantial. “No matter what youth consider themselves in terms of political party, we all must mobilize. Voting should be a sacrament in our national political religion.”
There was no doubt in my mind, that the majority of Bennington’s student body would be checking the “Barack Obama” box during the voting season. The school, renown for its indoor smoking dorms and clothing optional policies, lacked political diversity. At lunchtime on November 4th, 2008, I asked my table of six peers: “So, who voted?” I found this inquiry to be more humorous than it was an actual concern. My peers looked back at me with blank stares, each coming up with various excuses as to why their absentee ballot did not reach them. That night these same people shed their clothes, set off fireworks and ran off into Vermont’s misty plains in celebration of Obama’s victory. As my non-voting peers took two joints to the face instead of one, I asked myself: do they have the right to celebrate?
The mid term elections suggested a similar sense of apathy from the youth, but without any celebration. According to civicyouth.org, 20.9 % of Americans under the age of thirty voted in the midterm elections. With minimal input from the unengaged youth, the Republican party swept the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. Republicans gained open senate seats in Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio, Florida and Utah. Democrats held on to important states, such as California and New York. In Delaware, Chris Coons beat the tea party supported Christine O’Donnell, and similar Democratic victories were seen in Connecticut as Dick Blumenthal beat wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon. In California, Barbara Boxer triumphed over Carly Fiorino.
Steven Peterson, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Penn State, is not shaken by these facts. “I’m not surprised by the lower youth turnout because people are more excited about the presidential elections. They follow it more, so there’s a greater political interest, so there’s a greater overall turnout vote.”
Contrarily, Professor David Plotke, chair of committee on historical studies at the New School, responds with a different outlook. “Young people are usually less engaged by politics than older people, and it is not because they are disenchanted. They have not usually been involved much period.”
Yet, my experience at Bennington suggests something less obvious. Perhaps youth activism is only something of the past. While the minds of America’s youth are undoubtedly expanding at various institutions, could it be that youth activism’s spirit has died down? Professor Jeremy Varon, Associate Professor of history at The New School characterizes the past essence of activism: “The 60’s was driven by youthful idealism. History of the 1960’s was made by young adults, and politics was no longer something adults did.”
According to statemaster.com, the 1972 presidential elections accumulated a total of 50.3% of the youths vote. Over thirty years later, political analyst John William Cox reveals that 36% of young adults stated that it wouldn’t make a difference who they voted for. Some youth have been disillusioned even prior to Obama’s candidacy. April, a 25 year old accountant, and mother of one states: “I didn’t vote, because it dosen’t matter. Hence, Bush.”
Deva Woodley, assistant professor of Political Science at The New School for Social Research speaks to the generational discrepancy of the youth vote. “Some generations are more progressive than others, those that came of age in World War II tend to vote democrat, though now they are mostly in their 80’s, and those that came of age in 80’s tend to vote republican. Political disposition gets set pretty early on and dosen’t seem to waver.”
Some experts say that Generation Y’s disposition is largely shaped around their desire for instant gratification. This desire, perpetuated by technology, has supposedly left them disappointed with Obama’s presidency. “Often times people will listen to people whose views they agree with,” says Steven Peterson, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Penn State “Given the fragmentation of cable, that means you won’t hear other view.”
Many of the youth who voted for Obama in the presidential elections, were uninvolved during the midterm elections. “I think it was the hype during the presidential elections a couple years ago that really got me to vote. Now, I don’t really see what it was all for,” says Michelle, a 23 year old receptionist.
Is it the technology induced instant gratification that allows the youth to be more apathetic? Or rather, is it that media and the celebrity continuously, and perhaps inappropriately mingle with campaign efforts? Stars such as Oprah, and Ben Affleck displayed an obvious allegiance to president Obama. Similarly, Snoop Dog created videos in support for California’s prop 19. Social media websites have additionally installed polling applications, engaging the 97% of youth that use these social networking websites.
Rock The Vote, has been one of the major figureheads in this political niche. “There is still star power behind this election. Its especially great to see things moving virally through social networks and online after celebs share them with their fans,” claims Maegan Carberry, communications director of Rock the Vote.
However, such star power can dominate and skew the youth’s vision of politics. Most recent “politician” turned reality television star, Sarah Palin misrepresents a legitimate political agenda. Jessica Chaplin, a 24 year old from Cincinnati Ohio, did not vote in the mid term elections. Yet, when asked if she voted in the presidential election she stated: “Yes, because Sarah Palin would have ruined everyone’s lives.”
This is not to say that star power, was not driving force in the 1972 presidential election. The power however, was more representative of political vitality, than exploited political outlandishness.
Gary Meisel who is now an executive at Warner Brothers in Los Angeles, veered from the campus norm, of that era and was active in the 1972 Hubert Humphrey campaign, instead of supporting George McGovern as did most of his peers. “To the extent the youth do get involved, they are typically more left or right than in the middle, since those that get attracted at that age are generally caught up in the basis of an issue.”
Some youth, however, are not even engaged with the fundamentals of the midterm elections. Claiborne, a 20-year-old Starbucks barista, didn’t vote and admitted, “I didn’t even know who was running.”
Nevertheless, Analyst William John Cox believes that the youth vote is substantial. “No matter what youth consider themselves in terms of political party, we all must mobilize. Voting should be a sacrament in our national political religion.”
Declan Collab Piece 2
The mid-term elections are over and the dust is settling in the political sphere, which means that the hype of politics will inevitably fade out of the general consciousness until the next large political event. With the excitement dying down analysts are asking why the democrats failed to bring out Obama’s youth voters to maintain control of the House of Representatives and lost a considerable number of Senate seats this election. Even with the significant democratic loses however some view this election season as successful in reaching the youth.
According to Professor Jeremy Varon of the New School the youth has made a huge difference in politics in the past 60 years. In the era of the 1960’s the youth stood behind their political beliefs at massive demonstrations that were televised all over the country. That political climate however, moved the youth to stand behind the causes they believed in not necessarily the candidates. This meant that although the youth felt passionately about politics of the time, their enthusiasm was not channeled towards taking key political positions.
“The youth demographic became initially more important when they became mobilized in protest politics—which is when political issues take precedence over an actual candidate,” said Deva Woodley, a New school University Professor who teaches politic science and sociology.
Though the 1960’s proved to be a time when the youth was very invested in politics, that trend was ultimately short-lived and was followed by a period of lacking youth interest during the 70’s and 80’s.
“By the mid to late seventies this politically active youth almost completely disappeared and the notion that the youth don’t vote and don’t care surfaced,” said Professor Varon of the New School.
The presidential election of 2008 showed a 51 percent youth turnout—relatively larger than past years because of the campaign tactics Obama used to reach the youth. However it seems that the morale of the youth is dwindling based on a significantly lower, turnout for the mid-term elections. In the recent mid-term elections youth turnout was approximately 20 percent. This means it dropped nearly 30 percent since the presidential election leading some to speculate that the youth is disengaged and disillusioned by politics.
“Thirty-six percent of young people said it wouldn’t make a difference who they voted for.” said Political Analyst William John Cox. “Young people are carrying the burden. The government has to change for the youth to change.”
It isn’t hard to imagine that the youth are indeed disinterested in politics after comparing some of the numbers from the 2008 presidential election and the recent mid-term. Not only did the youth voter turn out decrease significantly between 2008 and 2010 but it also showed about a 5 percent decrease since the last mid term election of 2006 when 25 percent of youth voted. If one takes into account the tendency for young voters to lean towards democratic candidates illustrated by the 2008 National Election Poll, the landslide of republican victories may also be very telling because it suggests that the youth didn’t make it to the polls for the democrats.
“I’m lazy. Plus I don’t care. It’s all just so far from home,” said Alex age 21 of Gramercy, New York City when asked why he didn’t vote. In response to being asked if his decision not to vote mattered he responded: “Probably in a small way, who knows, maybe my not voting has the largest impact.”
In all the republicans gained control of 61 seats in the House of Representatives giving them a total of 240 compared to the democrats with only 190. In the senate, the Democrats although they maintained control, lost another six seats closing the wide margin between the two parties.
Still some believe that this year’s mid-term was in some way a success for the involvement of the youth in politics. According to CIRCLE analysis regions that were reached by the “Vote Again 2010,” a coalition of youth engagement campaigns, had a significant increase in youth voter turnout compared to past years.
“Compared to 2006 this was an extremely successful mid term election because we registered 250,000 more (young voters),” said Maegan Carberyy communications director at “Rock the Vote,” a campaign dedicated to young voter registration.
The question is what happened on Election Day to the 250,000 newly registered young voters that democrats were counting on to keep hold of the house and the senate? There is no doubt that campaigns from both parties that cater specifically at getting the youth to vote are now becoming increasingly important in every election. The problem seems to be that even when youth campaigns manage to get voters registered it is still difficult to get them to come out on Election Day.
“The youth vote is a huge resource [that] from now on candidates will tap into,” said Deva Woodley of the New School.
However the great decrease in youth turnout from 2008 to 2010 seems to point out an easing up on the part of those campaigns. After various statistics were gathered it was clear that disenchantment hit Obama’s democratic youth voters hardest since 2008. According to the Pew Research Center, about 27 percent of young democrats reported thinking seriously about the midterm elections, down 20 percent from 2006. From the other side, 39 percent of young Republican voters reported giving serious consideration to the mid term.
These statistics seem to confirm the pressing fear in the White House of a lost youth voting population that Obama is now working to correct. As Isaac Wood, a political analyst at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, told reporters before the election:
“There’s a palpable fear in the White House that the 2008 Obama voters are going to drop off in a huge way and not show up at the polls in 2010.”
The Internet was the place where huge campaigning leaps were made both during the 2008 and 2010 elections towards getting the youth population involving. It seemed that this type of campaigning was to be the way of the future in terms of getting to the youth voting population because it has become one of the most important social environments for the youth.
“He (Obama) was groundbreaking in mobilizing the youth by doing online geared campaigning—before [there wasn’t] much youth interest,” said Deva Woodley of the New School.
According to the Pew Research Center 72 percent of all 18-29 year olds are in some way linked into a social media website such as facebook or myspace, which means that online media sites are a battleground worth fighting for. Such features as an “I voted” badge were added to the facebook site although the motivation behind this move is not necessarily to increase youth voting turnout.
“Because voting rates of young people tend to be relatively low, efforts to get them to vote almost by definition have to be special and not purely conventional,” said the New school’s Professor Plotke.
Though most of the campaigns like “Rock the Vote” that took hold in the 2008 election claim not to have eased up for the mid term, there is a sense that this election simply had lower stakes and thus young voters were not interested enough to come out. Ultimately it remains unclear how exactly to sway the youth vote and thus youth campaigners can only remain determined and continue to approach the youth in creative ways.
As Maegan Carberyy of “Rock the Vote” said: “Were always looking for new ways to attract a bigger following, that’s something that never will stop.”
Media: A Key Influence in Politics
This year’s midterm election was crucial for the Democrats as they were on the verge of losing their power in the House of Representatives and Senate. On November 2, 2010, 82.5 million Americans cast their vote all over the nation. And the results—the Democrats fell short, continuing their reign in the Senate but losing their position in the House of Representatives, 57 to 40 percent.
Many have said that the lack of youth voters who were very prominent in the 2008 presidential election, which helped President Barack Obama win, could have made a difference. As a result from the general statement, youth voters have stated that because of the lack of media influence on the midterm election, many were not aware of or chose to not take part in voting.
According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE, stated only 20.9% of all eligible young people ages 18-29 voted in this year’s election, a 4.1% decline from the 2006 midterm election. In comparison to the 2008 Presidential election the youth vote rose only a couple of percentage points to 51 percent.
Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE, said to the Huffington Post:
“Arguably, we need a game-changing event or movement to increase turnout to a whole different level. If you were hoping that 2008 was such an event, yesterday’s results may be discouraging. It is time to ask whether the millions of young people who were deeply engaged in the 2008 campaign could have been invited to engage more in governance once the election was over.”
This game-changing event or movement Levine is talking about is probably media influence.
In the 2008 Presidential election, media was a huge influence. MTV, an American network based in New York City, heavily focused on the 2006 presidential election but for this year’s mid-term election they barely touched upon it. Instead, MTV decided to do a modern spin on it by having a pop music election. The election asked for the public to vote in four categories: pop start president, pop star vice-president, senate of pop, and house representatives of pop—Justin Beiber, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, and The Jonas Brothers won the titles.
An MTV News intern stated, “We just wanted to have fun with this election,” she continues, “the presidential election was so overwhelming in so many ways, we decided that 2010 should focus more on music.”
When asked if she thought the pop star poll had influenced youth voters to take part in the midterm election she said, “Yes, that was the goal. It’s just hard to reach out to a country when every state has its own race going on. We decided this would be a better way at universalizing the election.”
Heather Smith, executive director of Rock the Vote, a non-profit organization who’s mission is to engage and build the political power of young people, had a similar statement as Levine: “These young people are willing to participate and be active by nature, but they are not going to show up unless they are invited.”
Based on the MTV’s pop star poll, it is misleading. Rather than inviting youth voters to take part in politics, it tells them to stick with pop culture. As a result, this puts pressure on candidates to push harder and make sure their campaigns relate to and reach the youth in a way that will grab their attention. A major attention grabber: Celebrities.
Maegan Carberry from Rock the Vote said, “Plenty of stars have worked with us this cycle; it’s all just much more visible when the country is focused on a major race like the presidency.”
In the 2008 Presidential election, Rock the Vote ran the largest voter registration drive in history. Using a collaboration of online, mobile, and grassroots outreach, Rock the Vote were able to generate more than 2.5 million voter registrations. It is without a doubt that the use of celebrities like Christina Aguilera, Anne Hathaway, Samuel L. Jackson, Wyclef, and Jamie Foxx helped influence youth voters to register and vote. In accordance, Rock the Vote leaned more towards the Democratic party than the Republican party so it was no surprise that Rock the Vote had become a sort of campaign for Barack Obama.
According to their website, Rock the Vote’s goal is to “register and turn out millions more in 2010” but fell short for the midterm election as they were nowhere to be seen.
Surprisingly, 84% of youth voters who voted in 2010 also voted in 2008.
Although Mark Bauerlein, journalist, thinks differently. He stated in his article, “The Youth Vote, 2010” for The Chronicle: Voting should not be an act of inspiration. It should be a mundane duty of citizenship. It is not the responsibility of the government or the media or any other institution to “invite” young people into the voting booth.
It’ll be interesting to see how the 2012 Presidential election will be.
Many have said that the lack of youth voters who were very prominent in the 2008 presidential election, which helped President Barack Obama win, could have made a difference. As a result from the general statement, youth voters have stated that because of the lack of media influence on the midterm election, many were not aware of or chose to not take part in voting.
According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE, stated only 20.9% of all eligible young people ages 18-29 voted in this year’s election, a 4.1% decline from the 2006 midterm election. In comparison to the 2008 Presidential election the youth vote rose only a couple of percentage points to 51 percent.
Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE, said to the Huffington Post:
“Arguably, we need a game-changing event or movement to increase turnout to a whole different level. If you were hoping that 2008 was such an event, yesterday’s results may be discouraging. It is time to ask whether the millions of young people who were deeply engaged in the 2008 campaign could have been invited to engage more in governance once the election was over.”
This game-changing event or movement Levine is talking about is probably media influence.
In the 2008 Presidential election, media was a huge influence. MTV, an American network based in New York City, heavily focused on the 2006 presidential election but for this year’s mid-term election they barely touched upon it. Instead, MTV decided to do a modern spin on it by having a pop music election. The election asked for the public to vote in four categories: pop start president, pop star vice-president, senate of pop, and house representatives of pop—Justin Beiber, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, and The Jonas Brothers won the titles.
An MTV News intern stated, “We just wanted to have fun with this election,” she continues, “the presidential election was so overwhelming in so many ways, we decided that 2010 should focus more on music.”
When asked if she thought the pop star poll had influenced youth voters to take part in the midterm election she said, “Yes, that was the goal. It’s just hard to reach out to a country when every state has its own race going on. We decided this would be a better way at universalizing the election.”
Heather Smith, executive director of Rock the Vote, a non-profit organization who’s mission is to engage and build the political power of young people, had a similar statement as Levine: “These young people are willing to participate and be active by nature, but they are not going to show up unless they are invited.”
Based on the MTV’s pop star poll, it is misleading. Rather than inviting youth voters to take part in politics, it tells them to stick with pop culture. As a result, this puts pressure on candidates to push harder and make sure their campaigns relate to and reach the youth in a way that will grab their attention. A major attention grabber: Celebrities.
Maegan Carberry from Rock the Vote said, “Plenty of stars have worked with us this cycle; it’s all just much more visible when the country is focused on a major race like the presidency.”
In the 2008 Presidential election, Rock the Vote ran the largest voter registration drive in history. Using a collaboration of online, mobile, and grassroots outreach, Rock the Vote were able to generate more than 2.5 million voter registrations. It is without a doubt that the use of celebrities like Christina Aguilera, Anne Hathaway, Samuel L. Jackson, Wyclef, and Jamie Foxx helped influence youth voters to register and vote. In accordance, Rock the Vote leaned more towards the Democratic party than the Republican party so it was no surprise that Rock the Vote had become a sort of campaign for Barack Obama.
According to their website, Rock the Vote’s goal is to “register and turn out millions more in 2010” but fell short for the midterm election as they were nowhere to be seen.
Surprisingly, 84% of youth voters who voted in 2010 also voted in 2008.
Although Mark Bauerlein, journalist, thinks differently. He stated in his article, “The Youth Vote, 2010” for The Chronicle: Voting should not be an act of inspiration. It should be a mundane duty of citizenship. It is not the responsibility of the government or the media or any other institution to “invite” young people into the voting booth.
It’ll be interesting to see how the 2012 Presidential election will be.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Ashley Collab (2nd Draft)
New York – The November 2010 mid-term elections were considered to be a sweep for the Republicans, as they won over control of 239 seats in the House of Representatives. The mid-term elections are important to some. However, they proved to be less important to others, like young people.
Widespread masses of youth and adults alike worked to help educate and learn about the 2008 presidential campaign, with a particularly large youth following going to Obama. So the question is, where has this political youthful energy gone? According to Steven Peterson, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, (UNCAP) at Penn State University, the answer lies in the fact that the youth are generally more excited about the presidential elections.
“They follow it more, and there’s a greater political interest, so there’s a greater overall turnout to vote,” Peterson said.
Peterson has conducted research on the youth vote in recent and past elections, and studied voting behavior data from American national election studies. He also commented on another aspect of the youth vote -- if the youth population is motivated to vote, they will.
"The difference in the presidential election from the mid-term election is that there was an effort to turn out the youth vote by Obama's campaign," Peterson said.
Editor in chief, Elizabeth Murphy of The Daily Collegian, a student operated independently published newspaper at Penn State University, commented on youth campaigning on college campuses, before the mid-term election even took place: “We have a good amount of groups who are very much engaged and energized. But, in terms of the midterm election, I’m not sure there’s going to be as much of a fervor or engagement with campus at large.”
Murphy also touched on the fact that in 2008, campaign representatives for both parties asked students once or twice a day if they were registered to vote. While this sort of effort was very much so present in the presidential campaign, the same could not be said for the mid-term elections.
According to Murphy, one of the biggest concerns for college youth is the job market.
“You know, we're paying a lot, thousands of dollars, to go to school for four-years-plus to find a job,” Murphy said. “No one wants to go back to mom's basement after grabbing their degree. So, I think that's something that people really want to see a solution and an answer to.”
The problem is, that those sorts of issues were not widely addressed by candidates, which is one explanation as to why many students in Universities especially, did not feel the urge to vote.
According to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “Roughly 20 percent of American under the age of 30 voted in Tuesday’s midterm elections…Get-out-the-vote groups blamed the decline on candidates’ failure to engage young voters.”
Of several young people that were interviewed on the streets of New York City, came several responses to the mid-term elections. Of those who did not vote: many had no idea what they were, didn’t know how to go about voting through them, or were not registered in New York. However, when the same people were asked whether or not they had voted in the presidential election, almost everyone responded with a yes.
In reference to the Presidential Election: “Yes, that is who runs our country. I wasn’t going to not express my opinion on who I think should be in charge,” Adam Michaels, 22, of Newark, New Jersey.
That was not the attitude taken with the mid-term elections though.
“I think it's unfortunate, but at least at Penn State's campus, there isn't this huge feeling that people need to head out and hit the polls, and, you know, make their voice heard and vote,” Murphy said.
That being said, according to recent polls from The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, (CIRCLE) an estimated 20.9 percent of all eligible young people ages 18-29 actually voted in the 2010-midterm elections. This was a slight decrease from the 2006-midterm elections, which had a 25.5 percent voter turnout. The presidential election had approximately a 51.1 percent young voter turnout.
Another interesting notion was how Democratic candidates during the mid-term elections relied heavily on Obama’s popularity with the democratic youth, especially when it came to reaching out to youth voters. While this is a smart tactic, there could have been more of an effort on the candidates’ part.
However, other political candidates saw the efforts of Obama/the White House to rally youth voters for the democrats, as a last minute desperate attempt, according to the Daily Caller, a 24-hour news site that focuses specifically on original reporting and breaking news. According to the Washington Post, Obama went on a series of rallying campaigns across the country at various different college campuses, as a last minute attempt to appeal to the audience that once supported him so much.
Another group that seems to play a constant role in the popularity of any election, are the celebrities. They play a large role in rallying the youth vote, and played a significant role in Obama’s win in 2008. Obama’s successful campaign efforts paired with the constant reminders from celebrities on TV, (through alternate forms of media) helped educate and instill in young people’s minds that it was extremely important to get out and be heard.
During both mid-term and presidential elections, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook constantly reminded users to vote. More importantly, those sites helped educate users about each candidate/political party with constant updates.
However, some forms of media decided to approach the mid-term election from an entirely different angle.
MTV decided to gear all their efforts towards pop music elections instead, which encouraged young people to vote for different music celebrities. Pop star president, pop star vice president, senate, and House of Representatives, were amongst the roles to vote for.
The ultimate goal out of this voting tactic on MTV’s part was to encourage youth to go out and vote in the mid-term elections too. However, all the Pop election really did was gear young people towards MTV, and not the mid-term elections.
In order to have success with the youth population of voters, candidates could have put a little bit more effort into rallying that age group. In an article published in the Washington Post, there were endless examples of Obama’s work to rally last minute democratic voters for the mid-term elections. However, nothing was said about any work done by the candidates themselves to rally youth voters.
Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, believed that candidates had failed to tailor their messages to young voters, and instead alienated them with attack ads. “Young voters…are not motivated by anger in the way that Tea Party members are.”
The New York Times stated that, “Older voters are significantly more enthusiastic about voting this year than young voters.” Perhaps it is safe to say that older voters are more enthusiastic to vote, because they don’t need as much motivation as young voters do?
Professor Jeremy Varon of the New School for Social Research commented on the historical aspect of the youth vote: “The 60s were driven by youthful idealism. The history of the 60s was made by the youth and politics was no longer only something adults did.” According to the rest of his interview, the young people’s role shifted in society significantly from decade to decade. Their passion for politics came in waves, and after the 1960s period of youthful political activity, came a slump in the 1970s where there was much less youth involvement in politics.
That would explain the shift in youth voter turnout for the midterm elections, but a lingering question remains still: how will the future presidential elections compare?
“I think the primary difference in this particular election is that more young voters who voted in 2008 were motivated specifically by Obama, but he wasn’t on the ballot this year so some of them felt less motivated to turn out,” Said Keli Goff, political analyst, author and blogger.
Widespread masses of youth and adults alike worked to help educate and learn about the 2008 presidential campaign, with a particularly large youth following going to Obama. So the question is, where has this political youthful energy gone? According to Steven Peterson, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, (UNCAP) at Penn State University, the answer lies in the fact that the youth are generally more excited about the presidential elections.
“They follow it more, and there’s a greater political interest, so there’s a greater overall turnout to vote,” Peterson said.
Peterson has conducted research on the youth vote in recent and past elections, and studied voting behavior data from American national election studies. He also commented on another aspect of the youth vote -- if the youth population is motivated to vote, they will.
"The difference in the presidential election from the mid-term election is that there was an effort to turn out the youth vote by Obama's campaign," Peterson said.
Editor in chief, Elizabeth Murphy of The Daily Collegian, a student operated independently published newspaper at Penn State University, commented on youth campaigning on college campuses, before the mid-term election even took place: “We have a good amount of groups who are very much engaged and energized. But, in terms of the midterm election, I’m not sure there’s going to be as much of a fervor or engagement with campus at large.”
Murphy also touched on the fact that in 2008, campaign representatives for both parties asked students once or twice a day if they were registered to vote. While this sort of effort was very much so present in the presidential campaign, the same could not be said for the mid-term elections.
According to Murphy, one of the biggest concerns for college youth is the job market.
“You know, we're paying a lot, thousands of dollars, to go to school for four-years-plus to find a job,” Murphy said. “No one wants to go back to mom's basement after grabbing their degree. So, I think that's something that people really want to see a solution and an answer to.”
The problem is, that those sorts of issues were not widely addressed by candidates, which is one explanation as to why many students in Universities especially, did not feel the urge to vote.
According to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “Roughly 20 percent of American under the age of 30 voted in Tuesday’s midterm elections…Get-out-the-vote groups blamed the decline on candidates’ failure to engage young voters.”
Of several young people that were interviewed on the streets of New York City, came several responses to the mid-term elections. Of those who did not vote: many had no idea what they were, didn’t know how to go about voting through them, or were not registered in New York. However, when the same people were asked whether or not they had voted in the presidential election, almost everyone responded with a yes.
In reference to the Presidential Election: “Yes, that is who runs our country. I wasn’t going to not express my opinion on who I think should be in charge,” Adam Michaels, 22, of Newark, New Jersey.
That was not the attitude taken with the mid-term elections though.
“I think it's unfortunate, but at least at Penn State's campus, there isn't this huge feeling that people need to head out and hit the polls, and, you know, make their voice heard and vote,” Murphy said.
That being said, according to recent polls from The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, (CIRCLE) an estimated 20.9 percent of all eligible young people ages 18-29 actually voted in the 2010-midterm elections. This was a slight decrease from the 2006-midterm elections, which had a 25.5 percent voter turnout. The presidential election had approximately a 51.1 percent young voter turnout.
Another interesting notion was how Democratic candidates during the mid-term elections relied heavily on Obama’s popularity with the democratic youth, especially when it came to reaching out to youth voters. While this is a smart tactic, there could have been more of an effort on the candidates’ part.
However, other political candidates saw the efforts of Obama/the White House to rally youth voters for the democrats, as a last minute desperate attempt, according to the Daily Caller, a 24-hour news site that focuses specifically on original reporting and breaking news. According to the Washington Post, Obama went on a series of rallying campaigns across the country at various different college campuses, as a last minute attempt to appeal to the audience that once supported him so much.
Another group that seems to play a constant role in the popularity of any election, are the celebrities. They play a large role in rallying the youth vote, and played a significant role in Obama’s win in 2008. Obama’s successful campaign efforts paired with the constant reminders from celebrities on TV, (through alternate forms of media) helped educate and instill in young people’s minds that it was extremely important to get out and be heard.
During both mid-term and presidential elections, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook constantly reminded users to vote. More importantly, those sites helped educate users about each candidate/political party with constant updates.
However, some forms of media decided to approach the mid-term election from an entirely different angle.
MTV decided to gear all their efforts towards pop music elections instead, which encouraged young people to vote for different music celebrities. Pop star president, pop star vice president, senate, and House of Representatives, were amongst the roles to vote for.
The ultimate goal out of this voting tactic on MTV’s part was to encourage youth to go out and vote in the mid-term elections too. However, all the Pop election really did was gear young people towards MTV, and not the mid-term elections.
In order to have success with the youth population of voters, candidates could have put a little bit more effort into rallying that age group. In an article published in the Washington Post, there were endless examples of Obama’s work to rally last minute democratic voters for the mid-term elections. However, nothing was said about any work done by the candidates themselves to rally youth voters.
Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, believed that candidates had failed to tailor their messages to young voters, and instead alienated them with attack ads. “Young voters…are not motivated by anger in the way that Tea Party members are.”
The New York Times stated that, “Older voters are significantly more enthusiastic about voting this year than young voters.” Perhaps it is safe to say that older voters are more enthusiastic to vote, because they don’t need as much motivation as young voters do?
Professor Jeremy Varon of the New School for Social Research commented on the historical aspect of the youth vote: “The 60s were driven by youthful idealism. The history of the 60s was made by the youth and politics was no longer only something adults did.” According to the rest of his interview, the young people’s role shifted in society significantly from decade to decade. Their passion for politics came in waves, and after the 1960s period of youthful political activity, came a slump in the 1970s where there was much less youth involvement in politics.
That would explain the shift in youth voter turnout for the midterm elections, but a lingering question remains still: how will the future presidential elections compare?
“I think the primary difference in this particular election is that more young voters who voted in 2008 were motivated specifically by Obama, but he wasn’t on the ballot this year so some of them felt less motivated to turn out,” Said Keli Goff, political analyst, author and blogger.
Collaborative Piece 2.0 (Lula Brown)
“The 2010 Midterm Elections and the Youth Vote”
After the G.O.P. swept the house in the 2010 midterm elections, U.S. citizens throughout the nation were left scratching their heads. One of the most prominent topics on everyone’s mind was the impact of the youth vote, and whether it really made a difference or not.
It is certain that the youth vote did in fact make a difference, since the turnout for the 2008 presidential elections was 51.1% of eligible youth ages 18-29, whereas the turnout for the 2010 midterms was 20.9%. Since young people gravitate towards the Democratic Party, according to political analyst William John Cox, if they do not come out to vote this greatly affects the chances of the Democrats winning.
Obama was a key factor in the 2008 presidential elections, since so many youth were inspired by his ambitious goals to revive our country economically, politically and socially. Specifically, Obama promised a reform from the “broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.” (CBS News, 2008) Obama’s speech skills also had a large impact on youth trust:
“I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington … I’m asking you to believe in yours,” Obama said.
Obama’s tone in itself was very promising and inspirational, leading the youth to loyally rally in his favor in hopes that he would reform areas that affected them such as financial education reforms and access to more loans and grants.
“I had more hope for Obama in 2008, now I am not so sure about Obama’s economic policies and the people he has working on his economic policies.” James Brooks, 23-year old voter, stated.
Obama indeed appears to have taken on too large a burden, and the youth have become defeated after realizing he may not be able to facilitate them like he promised in 2008.
“One third of the young people came to blame Obama himself for failing to deliver on his promises … the economy sucked, jobs evaporated, college tuition increased, coal slurry continued to spill into mountain streams and oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico.” William John Cox said.
Since the youth is provided with so much varying information, it is hard to inspire them to zero in on their own views unless they feel there is a strong possibility that new legislation could meet their specific needs if enough youth vote. This makes the job of campaigners and youth vote activists difficult, but pertinent to our country. Many youth seemed jaded and confused due to this overload of information:
“I am a bit naïve and confused about politics.” Grace Pollioni, 19, said.
"Honestly, I don't really care enough about the elections to get out and vote. Maybe I would if there were something in it for me, but I don't think that there's much anyone has actually been doing." Stated a 20-year-old male in the Little Italy area of New York City.
The youth vote is very important for Democrats because older voters, who make up the majority, statistically tend to split up their votes between the Republican and Democratic parties, whereas youth voters are more likely to vote solid Democrat. Therefore, if youth voters do not come out, the Democrats are sure to suffer severely, as we saw in the 2010 midterms.
Heather Smith of “Rock the Vote” expressed the importance of the youth vote: “These young people are willing to participate and be active by nature, but they are not going to show up unless they are invited.” The youth need to feel “invited” since most of them have so much on their plate and so many obligations to fulfill in order to set the stage for their futures.
Keli Goff, political activist and author of Party Crashing, in five words, summed up an example of the importance of young people actually turning out:
“Florida in the 2000 election.”
The 2000 presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore was the closest election since 1876, and if more youth had voted in Florida the election probably would have gone in favor of Gore. With only 35% of the youth voting, an increase in this percentage would have made a significant impact.
This puts pressure on candidates to make sure their campaigns relate to and reach the youth in an attention-grabbing way.
“The Democratic party should recognize that young voters are the best hope for the future of democracy.” William John Cox said.
The history of the youth vote and the actual definition of “youth” are significant aspects to consider when examining the shift in the youth vote.
“In ancient Rome, youth was considered an age of crisis, a transitional, stormy period that required control and guidance. Roman system regarded the freedom and independence of youth as a serious danger to society, and constructed the world of youth so as to correspond to that society. Some degree of freedom was permitted, but with the expectation that it would enhance future conformity,” Reuven Kahane wrote in his book “The Origins of Postmodern Youth: Informal Youth Movements:”
The youth have always been an integral part of our political structure since they are essentially blank slates with fresh views. Older generations are concerned with the youth because they impact the vote in such a heavily Democratic way, and sometimes are not fully educated as to the affect they are really having on our society. This is why it is important to educate the youth, making them less of a danger since they will make educated decisions if they are aware of current issues in a non-biased light.
“I find that the youth vote is active, but not accurate. They don’t understand what they are voting for, it’s very much on the surface.” Jesse, a 22-year-old student and intern from Los Angeles, stated.
If even youth themselves agree that they do not understand what they are voting for, we know it is an issue that must be addressed by organizations such as “Rock the Vote” and other political groups concerned with the youth.
Although it is important to vie for the attention of the youth, it is a sad truth that is extremely hard to catch their interest:
“… Most youth are generally apathetic about mainstream politics since it doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on their everyday lives. To the extent youth do get involved, they are typically more left or right than in the middle since those that get attracted at that age are generally caught up on the basis of an issue.” Gary Meisel, a former Harvard University student circa 1972 who worked on the Hubert Humphrey campaign, said.
With 97% of the youth using tools such as Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare, social media has become the prime way to reach them on a practical level. Social media allows the youth to communicate with each other, rather than fall victim to the propaganda often involved in corporate media:
“Most important, with their ability to instantly communicate with each other using the Internet, text messaging and social networks, young people are less vulnerable to being manipulated by the corporate media.” William John Cox said.
This aggregation of relevant and relatable political information makes knowledge easily accessible to this generation, leading them to make more practical, educated decisions than earlier generations, according to William John Cox. Although the youth vote decreased during this midterm election, it is hopeful that more youth will turn out for the next presidential elections since social media has become such a huge part of everyone’s life, making information readily available.
Fashion Week Reflections (old reading journal posted to personal blog by accident)
With New York Fashion Week S/S 2011 dead and buried, I can confidently state that Cathy Horyn of the New York Times wins my award for best fashion reporter of the season. Although personal blogs can be fun and relatable, Horyn provided accurate, extensive reviews in a relatable tone. What I enjoyed most about Horyn’s writing style was her ability to respectfully criticize major designers such as Ralph Lauren. In one article she states that
“Mr. Lauren, in a fine show on Thursday, added too much beaded fringe, lace and metallic shine in his Western collection for it to be anything other than an appreciative take on the urban cowgirl.” (Horyn)
I respect her tone because she is able to voice her opinion and disagree with a legendary designer without coming off overly offensive. This is an important skill to have since journalists cannot let themselves be blinded by an individual’s reputation or even legacy. Horyn also discusses designers referencing others’ past collections, and what the turn over time should be before this happens. Personally, I think that a clothing designer must allow at least a five-year time span to pass before referencing another designer’s collection in a new show. Anything sooner gives the idea that the designer is dry on ideas and digging around in others’ leftovers for inspiration. Although this may not be true, it is a sensitive subject that must be played with carefully. Ultimately, I prefer when designers display fresh concepts every season, with minimal reference to past looks.
Lula Brown
Reading Journal September 17th, 2010
photo: www.styleite.com
The Youth Vote in the Midterm Election draft 2
ISLA VISTA, CA—A multitude of post adolescent youth descend onto house lined Del Playa Drive, known simply as “DP”, while others cheer from their balconies in unison as the news unfolds Barack Obama has won the election and has become the first elected African-American U.S. president.
Bicyclists and long boarders chant Obama’s name as they zip neatly through the crowd. Streakers run past everyone at full speed, and although it is a school night UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College students continue to pour into DP in any wayward direction.
Almost two years later, midterm election day comes and goes with an eerie silence having fallen on the previously buoyant crowds that had once celebrated Obama’s victory. “I didn’t even know who was running,” said 20-year-old, Starbucks Barista, Claiborne.
Instead voiceless one-click responses seem to be sufficient enough to participate in the day’s events. “I Voted” buttons popped up sporadically throughout the day on Facebook newsfeeds, while a few status updates correctly anticipated the Republicans would win the house, but lose the senate. There is no spontaneous parade today, and everyone remains fully clothed.
Republicans win the house with a total of 239 seats. Democrats narrowly hold on to the senate majority with a total of 51 seats compared to the republican’s 46. The Republican Party’s success almost immediately raises questions among various news outlets, “Where was the youth turn out in this election?” “Have they already lost interest in the Democratic Party?”
Rightwing commentators began to eagerly speculate perhaps Obama is losing his hold on the demographic that had once loved him so dearly. After all, they were the ones that had plastered multi-colored posters of his face on their dorm room walls. They had incorporated him into their wardrobe, and had given up plans with their friends, and missed days of school, for the opportunity to catch a glimpse of him at town hall meetings and possibly shake his hand.
Obama, however, was not on the ballot this year, and the majority of his youthful supporters don’t seem to care who was. “I don’t really pay attention to state politics, or national politics really. I don’t have a good reason why I didn’t [vote] I just didn’t,” said Eden, a young unenthused nonvoter.
Despite the overwhelming support Obama received initially from young voters, historically, youth turnout has always been low. So, when midterm elections come around--which always sees a lower voter turn out across the board--it comes as no surprise the youth demographic rounded out the bottom. According to Mark Bauerlein’s article, “The Youth Vote, 2010,” Only 20.9% of young adults between the ages of 18-29 voted—a 5% decrease from the 2006 midterm elections.
Is it indifference on the part of the youth to blame? According to political analyst William John Cox, a whopping 36% of young adults said it wouldn’t make a difference who they voted for.
However in states where non-profit organizations like Rock the Vote—specializing in youth voter registration—were present, the percentage of voters in between the ages of 18-29 exceeded the 25% youth voter turnout in 2006.
Organizations such as Rock the Vote bring to light that encouragement and incentive paves the way to the voting booth for young voters. “These young people are willing to participate and be active by nature, but they are not going to show up unless they are invited,” said Heather Smith, executive director of Rock the Vote. In fact Rock the Vote’s registered an estimated 300,000 new young voters in the midterm election.
Currently the majority of the youth demographic are voting democratic, however, a common political myth is the older one becomes the more likely they will lean conservative. According to Deva Woodley, Professor of Political Science at the New School, “Some generations are more progressive than others, those that came of age in WWII tend to vote democrat, though now they are mostly in their 80’s, and those that came of age in the 1980’s tend to vote republican. Political disposition gets set pretty early on and doesn’t waver.”
Today, young voters are more likely to use the internet to educate themselves about politics. Politicians who are seeking to obtain young voters to their respected party—knowing full well whatever party they align with will mostly be their party for life—are beginning to utilize the internet and technology more and more with campaigns targeting social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter with every election. Although Obama was not the first candidate to utilize this tool, he was the first to make it an overwhelming success by using technology to reach out to young voters.
Despite the youth turnout always being among the lowest of the voting demographics, the vitality the youth possesses is invaluable to any candidate that can harness their energy.
“A certain energy is infused when youth is involved. It creates a cultural movement. Obama created a cultural movement. He was used as a figurehead,” adds Woodley.
This was especially true when the youth vote first emerged in the 1960’s, coinciding with the Vietnam War, when the voting age was still 21. How to obtain the youth votes rests large in part on what motivates them to mobilize. In the case of the Vietnam War, the draft enacted sent men under the voting age involuntarily to war.
Traditionally during campaigning we see “electoral politics” the endorsement of a particular candidate. However it’s “protest politics”—political issues that take precedence over the candidates—that historically mobilizes young voters, according to Woodley. The Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement were the catalysts in sparking the youth movement that would come to symbolize the 60’s.
Throughout the decades young voter turnout has weaned off and picked up again most notably in the 1984 and 2008 elections. This midterm election saw no particular candidate or party that targeted young voters with the same gusto as Obama’s campaign had. This was due large in part because it was not just one central election that gripped the attention of the entire country, but multiple local elections targeting multiple local populations. "This is about local politics,” said Maegan Carberry, from Rock the Vote, “and we are seeing local media markets pick up our public service ads.”
What may be being done on a local level does not seem to be counteracting the disillusionment felt among the young demographic. Many young voters have expressed their frustration at the lack of political change they have seen occur. “ I am disappointed,” said 18-year-old Samantha Morris of Boston, Massachusetts, “from the things I have read it doesn’t seem like he is sticking to all the things he promised.”
The initial excitement has worn off and continues to do so. William Cox, political activist, spurs young voters, “No matter what youth consider themselves in terms of political party, we all must mobilize. Voting should be a sacrament in our national political religion.”
"Weird but true" Reflections (reading journal)
This past week I stumbled upon a brief article in the New York Post online called "Weird but true," giving snippets of bizarre international news, such as farmers in Japan playing Mozart under the belief that it would make their fruits and vegetables taste better.
The article got me thinking about yellow journalism, which is defined as "the use of lurid features and sensationalized news in newspaper publishing to attract readers and increase circulation." (Britannica Encyclopedia)
Although I am not claiming that this article included false news, the snippets are certainly bizarre and left me wondering if yellow journalism is often used in general in news these days? I think it is certainly possible, given all the other corruption that has been uncovered such as information about 9/11 and in the past, The Watergate Scandal. "Weird but true" also reported such things as a man sitting on a lawn chair across the street from a burning building, laughing hysterically. Therefore, he was thought to be a prime suspect for who started the fire.
The final tidbit was about a French grandmother who got stuck in her bathroom for 20 days after jamming the door. She banged on the pipes and her neighbors started a petition to stop what they thought was illegal repair work, rather than checking up on the 69-year-old woman.
Although all these things are certainly possible, I just find it interesting the way they were presented as dramatic, very brief blurbs.
Conclusively, this piece left me wondering if others have seen this type of news and if peers believe that yellow journalism is still in practice? Again, I am not asserting that this is in fact yellow journalism, it just sparked this train of thought with its almost "word vomit," dramatic feeling.
The Youth Vote in the Mid Term Ellections DRAFT 2
Patrick Nicholas
Mid Term Election Coverage
November 21st, 2010
The 2010 mid-term elections marked the half way point of Barack Obama’s Presidency. As an ardent supporter of Mr. Obama one would think that I came out this past November in support of his fellow democrats. Unfortunately like so many other youth voters I did not make my way to the nearest polling stations. According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement [CIRCLE} only an estimated 20.9% of eligible youth voters actually voted this past Election Day. The absence of the youth vote may be one of the major factors behind the republican’s largest victory since 1948.
Two years ago Barack Obama lead democrats to decisive victories in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate—two weeks ago those victories seem to have been long forgotten. This past election republicans gained control of the House of Representatives and are only six seats away from having a majority in the Senate. If republicans can emulate these results in 2012, they put themselves in position for major victories.
The past election results may have been influenced but the lack of the youth demographic. The youth presence in the past mid-term election did drop significantly from 2008. According to an AOL News report youth voter turnout was 10% less then it was two years ago. But why was this? I turned to the streets of New York for some answers.
Twenty eight-year-old Nancy Bessel’s said, “ As a new mother I didn’t have time to vote. My husband made it to the polls but it is not a presidential election so I did not think it was that important”.
Dave, a Gramercy resident said, “ I just don’t care at all. I never feel like it matters [in 2008] I voted for him because he’s black and it’s a big step for civil rights.”
From the streets I then turned to Keli Goff, a political analysis for many major political news sources. Nancy said; “ Voter turnout is always lower in mid-term elections across all demographics.” I was curious to see if Obama influenced voter turnout. “I think the primary difference in this particular election is that Obama motivated more young voters to turn out in 2008. His absence on the ballot in this election may have made them less inclined to turn out”.
The youth vote was a major part of Obama’s coalition in 2008 according to Rock the Vote; the lack of turn out from this demographic in the 2010 election may mean that this coalition is weakening.
In 2008 Voter turnout increased for a variety of reason. Some say the celebrity presence was a major factor. Celebrities such as George Clooney, Seth Rogan, Jamie Foxx and Oprah all contributed large sums of money to democrats on the campaign trail. During mid term elections this presence was not felt. This could potentially contribute to less youth voters coming out during the mid term elections.
I spoke to Maegan Carbery at the Rock the Vote about the methods they used to attract younger voters. “ Most of our success comes from reaching out to the youth in places they already are such as music festivals, college and professional sporting events and major universities” Carberry said. “Over the past several years we had a lot of success using social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.”
The Youth Vote was extremely important two years ago. According to statistics released by Rock the Vote, the 2008 Presidential election was the largest turn out of youth voters in history having over 52% of youth voters going to the polls. These numbers did not translate to the 2010 election when only about 20% of eligible youth voters actually voted. This lack of turn could be because of the lack of emphasis on the mid term vote says Meagan Carbery. “ There is much more enthusiasm on our side of things as well as the voters is major election. People are attracted to the importance of presidential elections.”
Barack Obama showed us in 2008 how important the youth vote could be. As we look back at the history of this demographic it is apparent that the youth age bracket is often absent from the voting process. David Plotke, a professor of political science at The New School for Social Research, spoke about the history of the youth vote.
“Young people are usually less engaged by politics than older people, and it is not because they are disenchanted. They have not usually been involved much period. As people get older they tend to develop more and deeper connections to the political and social world, via families, kids, jobs, communities and so forth. This is how it has been for a while”.
The absence of the youth vote has been around for decades. According to Rock the Vote the numbers do seem to be on the rise, recording an increase in registered youth voters each electoral year. Between 2006 and 2008 Rock the Vote had a 25% increase in registered youth voters.
John Cox, a political analyst and former activist said, ”thirty six percent of young people said it would not make a difference that they voted”. Historically this demographic has been absent from the polling station but it is apparent, through the results of recent elections that candidates must capture the youth bracket in order to win a major election.”
In 2008 Rock the Vote registered 2.5 million new young voters, many of these voters helped Barack Obama win the presidency. His coalition seemed to have fallen apart during the recent mid term elections. The lack of recent democratic support seems to have some sort of connection with the public’s over all feeling that Barack Obama is not instituting his idea of change in the appropriate manor.
The 2010 mid term elections marked one of the largest shifts of power in the United States. “ Since 2004, young voters have been one of the strongest Democratic constituencies,” said CIRCLE director Peter Levine. “Democrats need to engage them better than they did in 2010[to win in 2012].”
Mid Term Election Coverage
November 21st, 2010
The 2010 mid-term elections marked the half way point of Barack Obama’s Presidency. As an ardent supporter of Mr. Obama one would think that I came out this past November in support of his fellow democrats. Unfortunately like so many other youth voters I did not make my way to the nearest polling stations. According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement [CIRCLE} only an estimated 20.9% of eligible youth voters actually voted this past Election Day. The absence of the youth vote may be one of the major factors behind the republican’s largest victory since 1948.
Two years ago Barack Obama lead democrats to decisive victories in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate—two weeks ago those victories seem to have been long forgotten. This past election republicans gained control of the House of Representatives and are only six seats away from having a majority in the Senate. If republicans can emulate these results in 2012, they put themselves in position for major victories.
The past election results may have been influenced but the lack of the youth demographic. The youth presence in the past mid-term election did drop significantly from 2008. According to an AOL News report youth voter turnout was 10% less then it was two years ago. But why was this? I turned to the streets of New York for some answers.
Twenty eight-year-old Nancy Bessel’s said, “ As a new mother I didn’t have time to vote. My husband made it to the polls but it is not a presidential election so I did not think it was that important”.
Dave, a Gramercy resident said, “ I just don’t care at all. I never feel like it matters [in 2008] I voted for him because he’s black and it’s a big step for civil rights.”
From the streets I then turned to Keli Goff, a political analysis for many major political news sources. Nancy said; “ Voter turnout is always lower in mid-term elections across all demographics.” I was curious to see if Obama influenced voter turnout. “I think the primary difference in this particular election is that Obama motivated more young voters to turn out in 2008. His absence on the ballot in this election may have made them less inclined to turn out”.
The youth vote was a major part of Obama’s coalition in 2008 according to Rock the Vote; the lack of turn out from this demographic in the 2010 election may mean that this coalition is weakening.
In 2008 Voter turnout increased for a variety of reason. Some say the celebrity presence was a major factor. Celebrities such as George Clooney, Seth Rogan, Jamie Foxx and Oprah all contributed large sums of money to democrats on the campaign trail. During mid term elections this presence was not felt. This could potentially contribute to less youth voters coming out during the mid term elections.
I spoke to Maegan Carbery at the Rock the Vote about the methods they used to attract younger voters. “ Most of our success comes from reaching out to the youth in places they already are such as music festivals, college and professional sporting events and major universities” Carberry said. “Over the past several years we had a lot of success using social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.”
The Youth Vote was extremely important two years ago. According to statistics released by Rock the Vote, the 2008 Presidential election was the largest turn out of youth voters in history having over 52% of youth voters going to the polls. These numbers did not translate to the 2010 election when only about 20% of eligible youth voters actually voted. This lack of turn could be because of the lack of emphasis on the mid term vote says Meagan Carbery. “ There is much more enthusiasm on our side of things as well as the voters is major election. People are attracted to the importance of presidential elections.”
Barack Obama showed us in 2008 how important the youth vote could be. As we look back at the history of this demographic it is apparent that the youth age bracket is often absent from the voting process. David Plotke, a professor of political science at The New School for Social Research, spoke about the history of the youth vote.
“Young people are usually less engaged by politics than older people, and it is not because they are disenchanted. They have not usually been involved much period. As people get older they tend to develop more and deeper connections to the political and social world, via families, kids, jobs, communities and so forth. This is how it has been for a while”.
The absence of the youth vote has been around for decades. According to Rock the Vote the numbers do seem to be on the rise, recording an increase in registered youth voters each electoral year. Between 2006 and 2008 Rock the Vote had a 25% increase in registered youth voters.
John Cox, a political analyst and former activist said, ”thirty six percent of young people said it would not make a difference that they voted”. Historically this demographic has been absent from the polling station but it is apparent, through the results of recent elections that candidates must capture the youth bracket in order to win a major election.”
In 2008 Rock the Vote registered 2.5 million new young voters, many of these voters helped Barack Obama win the presidency. His coalition seemed to have fallen apart during the recent mid term elections. The lack of recent democratic support seems to have some sort of connection with the public’s over all feeling that Barack Obama is not instituting his idea of change in the appropriate manor.
The 2010 mid term elections marked one of the largest shifts of power in the United States. “ Since 2004, young voters have been one of the strongest Democratic constituencies,” said CIRCLE director Peter Levine. “Democrats need to engage them better than they did in 2010[to win in 2012].”
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Youth Vote--Midterm Election 2010
DRAFT 1
Disinterest in the midterm elections was evident among American youth this year comprising only 9% of the voter turnout. The Obama election is famous for wrangling in youth interest in politics, even those too young to vote. After all, there was an increase of 2 million young voters from 2004 to 2008. But in 2008, social media didn’t have the half a billion users as it does today; it was Obama himself and other media outlets that made it happen. The 2010 midterm election attempted campaigning devices on youth-heavy websites such as Twitter and Facebook which were perfectly effective, yet the turnout was still disappointing in more ways than numbers.
Youth are interested in circumstances that they are involved in. During the 2008 presidential election, change felt real. If Obama were to win, a new president would not be the only historic change on our platter. When kids were leaving school to vote for him on election day, it goes without saying that they wanted to be included in this change that reflected their generation.
“They young always receive more political attention than the old, though the old generally shape elections more than the young. That trend is exaggerated in midterm elections.” said David Paul Kuhn of RealClearPolitics.
To understand the importance of the youth vote we can look at the 2006 midterm elections. The seniors turnout rate was 63 percent, which was more than twice the youth rate.
Polls show that older voters lean more toward Republican candidates, so that could be bad news for Democrats. And this year, it was.
In this election, Obama lost the majority that he gained during his very successful campaign that utilized all the unconventional public relation methods that were very familiar to the youth. He owes his victory to a large degree to the youth. Why did they not renew that campaign that during the midterm and reach out to the youth again? If Obama’s team decided to amp up the midterm campaigns to capture the attention of the youth and show them the importance of the vote, perhaps the turnout would have been different.
“36% of young people said it wouldn’t make a difference who they voted for,” said political analyst William John Cox. “Young people are carrying the burden. The government has to change for the youth to change.”
Seniors and baby boomers are more engaged in the election and more enthusiastic about voting than pre-election polling has found since at least 1994, according to Pew Research Center data. In comparison, young voters and adults between the ages of 30 and 49 poll like previous midterm cycles.
President Obama rallied on college campuses and gave an interview at Rolling Stone last week, hopeful to receive political attention from the young. But this time he was low key, and almost soundless with the seniors—who are about one in five voters in recent midterms.
The Republicans are now the majority seats of congress, making it difficult for Obama to utilize any of his plans for the remainer or his presidency.
There has been a lot of talk about the enthusiasm gap between the young and old when it comes to politics, but what this leaves us is a generation gap. In the same way that political decisions would differ by generation, what attracts the attention of adults will not necessarily have the same effect on our nation’s young adults.
“Because voting rates of young people tend to be relatively low, efforts to get them to vote almost by definition have to special and not purely conventional,” said the Newschool’s Professor Plotke.
97% of youth ages 18-24 use social media websites. Reuters Institute for the study of Journalism reports that these users also receive most of their political information online as well. Newspapers and Radio are nearly obsolete to the nation’s youth. This is justification enough to gear towards those sites to create political opinion amongst them, digitally and socially. The midterm elections this year was the first election to properly and effectively use the social media device as a campaign tool. Virtually every major website was linked to the election in some way. Facebook had an “I Voted” button on its main page (reflecting the outdated sticker idea), The NY Times and The Wall Street Journal created applications on iPhones and iPads allowing users to monitor the elections live, and Twitter wins the award for social network place for Politics, allowing their users to
MTV, an outlet famed for its attention on youth, decided to ignore the idea that they could in fact influence and educate their viewers and followers to make political decisions. MTV created their own version of a race. Their 2010 midterm election candidates included Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber. No real candidates were included, it was about the public opinion about which pop stars should be president, (the most popular) and vice president (Katy Perry won in this world).
While we’re on the topic of celebrities, where the hell were they? Were we dreaming in 2008 when I saw every A, B, C, and even D list celebrities out there telling every one on the planet exactly how they felt about the election? It’s understandable that presidency is the top layer of the cake and Americans are interested in the powerhouse, but the middle layers are just as important. I think someone should let Oprah Winfrey know that her and P. Diddy have a job to do.
Young Americans won’t turn out to the polls unless someone reaches out to them first. When Madonna draped herself in an American Flag two decades ago in order to send the message that “Censorship is Un-American” to the nations youth, the youth heard it. When Obama addressed young voters at events such as concerts telling them, “Yes We CAN,” the youth heard it. Nine-in-ten local party leaders say youth political engagement is a serious problem. The outcome of the 2010 midterm elections would likely be poles apart from what it is now if the youth were more involved. It is time for a change.
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