Election 2002--students in action. (Sounding off).

Media and political pundits would have you believe that youth are apathetic slackers who don't care about politics or their civic responsibility. It's well documented that 18-through 24-year-olds make up 22 percent of the voting electorate; yet on Election Day only 9 percent vote. But, don't be mistaken. This apparent apathy is not because most of them don't care. Current studies show that they are more active than ever in civic service. Rather, students choose to direct their energies away from a political process they perceive as unconcerned about their interests.

Thus, a cycle of neglect and non-participation has emerged. Politicians fail to address the issues that students care about and, consequently, students are less likely to vote. Students often feel they do not have the option of voting for the candidate who stands for their beliefs but rather for the "lesser of two evils."

Furthermore, students seeking to vote sometimes face barriers at the polls. During the 2000 presidential election, for example, a Michigan law required students to vote at their home address. The law created confusion, and ultimately discouraged students from voting.

Politicians cannot end this cycle unilaterally. Students must show politicians that they will not be ignored. They must organize their fellow students to force issues like increased education spending, a living wage and affirmative action to the forefront of the political debate. The United States Student Association (USSA) is committed to doing just this. Our Electoral Action Training exposes students to the electoral process and equips them with concrete skills to mobilize the student vote. Utilizing these skills, students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison increased turnout more than 40 percent from 1996 to 2000. In 2002, we will distribute 250,000 issue-based voter guides, successfully register 50,000 new student voters, and train an army of student volunteers to achieve a record student voter turnout of 20 percent.

The entire community must help to break this cycle. Students have shown themselves to be the winning advantage in any tight election campaign. Organizations can support students by contributing resources to strategic efforts to educate and mobilize young voters around issues of educational access and justice.

We, students, care deeply about our government and its policies, but our government has yet to show that it cares about us. Election Day 2002 will be our day of reckoning. We will compel our government to be accountable to an educated, activated student population.

VOTER LINKS

www.usstudents.org