“Oh my god, really?”
“Really! I know. I was like that, too. I wonder what’s going to happen now, you know?”
Seems like a normal lunchroom conversation between teens, right?
They could be talking about dating, school, relationships, even the latest TV show about promiscuous teens with too much money and not enough time — the things teenagers are normally expected to talk about. But these two seniors at Eden Prairie High School were talking about the recent debate among presidential candidates over the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The newest buzz-worthy issue among teenagers has really caught everyone by surprise – the upcoming election. The presidential election has become the hot-button issue to debate in classrooms and even at lunch.
“I think that teenagers are more politicized about this year’s election because of the important issues that are being raised this time around,” said Claire Luckens, senior at Eden Prairie and a delegate to the county convention for the DFL Party.
“[…] the Iraq war, protecting the environment, and immigration. These issues are current and pressing as well as issues that will affect us for years to come,” she added.
Election could make history
This election also has the ability to make history, at least on the Democratic side with Hillary Clinton, a woman, and Barack Obama, an African-American, competing for the nomination. And for the first time since 2000, the presidency is up for grabs.
According to CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland), more than three million Americans under the age of 30 turned out for the Super Tuesday caucus and primaries held in 24 states on Feb. 5. More than 44 million are eligible to vote in November.
Remembering the 2004 presidential election, one can hardly forget the gimmicks used to encourage young Americans to vote, such as “Vote or Die” t-shirts worn, P. Diddy’s “Citizen Change” and MTV’s “Choose or Lose” campaigns.
This year, however, those sort of gimmicks might not be necessary. In Eden Prairie in February, more than 1,000 people packed into the DFL and Republican caucuses at the high school.
“This place was packed!” said James Maslyn. A junior at Eden Prairie High School and a member of the Young Republicans Club, he was impressed.
“Like every single parking spot was taken and people had to park on sidewalks, snow banks, down the streets, anywhere. I had to walk for a good six or seven minutes from where I parked to the school, and it was cold that day. It got so bad to the point where people had to park at the church down the street and ride the campaign bus up to the high school.”
The 2004 caucus was held in a small classroom since that was sufficient to contain the turnout they had. This year, two large lunchrooms were hardly enough to contain the turnout.
War and health care big issues for the young
Young Americans are concerned about a number of issues this year. In a national survey last fall, young Americans told interviewers for Harvard University’s Institute of Politics that the war in Iraq remains their dominant concern. Some 37 percent of 18-to-24 year olds cited the war as the issue that concerns them most. Health care is the second most pressing issue of concern, with 10 percent naming it.
Following health care are a range of priorities that all net between three and five percent and include the environment, economy, immigration and foreign policy. According to the survey, young Americans prefer a more open foreign policy, driven by dialogue between the U.S. and other countries, whether they are friendly or not.
Why it matters
“In my mind, this is the first election in an eternity where the issues were so important to our country,” said Colin O’ Donnell, a senior at Eden Prairie High School, the president of the Young Democrats Club, and a county delegate for the DFL Party.
“We face a crisis in our economy, the erosion of constitution rights, a war that everyone but the Army and the government wants to have ended, a dismantling of America’s place in the standing of the world, and a destruction of our planet. …For once we realize we can stop this.”
This election also will affect many important issues that personally affect teenagers.
“Teenagers that I’ve talked to are usually concerned with three things: the war, the environment, and college,” said O’ Donnell.
But the war, the environment and high college costs were in existence during the 2004 and 2006 elections. So why the sudden spotlight on them now?
Even though voting among 18-29 year olds grew in 2004, , when 20.1 million young Americans voted, several Eden Prairie students believe that apathy exhibited by teenagers during the 2004 election might have made things worse. The new energy among teenagers seems to reflect a “better late than never” attitude.
No matter what the reason — frustration with how things are going right now, excitement about the candidates and the issues, or the recognition of how important voting is for a democracy — this politicized electorate will no doubt have an impact in determining the future president of the United States.
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