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 Bennington Bubble” as some students referred to it, was indeed, a very different world New England town beneath it. 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 boasted a lack of diversity, 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 mid October. 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?” As college is historically a time of political activism, 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?

It is therefore not surprising that the mid term elections produced a similar sense of apathy from the youth. According to civicyouth.org, 20.9 % of Americans under the age of thirty voted in the midterm elections. 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.”

Professor David Plotke, chair of committee on historical studies at the New School, responds with a similar rationale. “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.”

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.

On the whole, young adults lack the experience and judgment to be as politically active as those of an older demographic. Yet, my experience at Bennington suggests something less obvious. Perhaps college was only historically a time for political activism. While the minds of America’s youth are undoubtedly expanding at various institutions, could it be that activism is resting on its laurels? 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 specialists argue that Generation Y’s political disposition is largely shaped by technology and our desire for instant gratification. Professor Deva Woodley notes that the identity of this generation associates themselves with the independent party, yet they vote democratic. Professor Steven Peterson speaks to the technology element stating: “Often times people will listen to commentators whose views they agree with, given the fragmentation of cable that means you wont 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.”

Is it the technology induced instant gratification that allows the youth to be less party-centric and more apathetic? Or rather, is it the fact that media and the celebrity continuously 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. The youth who remained politically inactive this election might just feel an inkling of inferiority as a result of these applications.

The youth vote, historically associated with leftist politics, first took action in the elections of 1972. 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.”

Jesse, a 22 year old an intern and recent college graduate, did not vote, but voices her opinion on the youth’s political activity. “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.”

While the youth vote is decidedly, not as thorough and informed as the older generation, that is not to say that it is unimportant. Political Analyst William John Cox believes that the youth vote is undeniably 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.”