< Previous
Page |
|
Insights |
| |
A
‘Vicious cycle’
Youth voters wait
for candidates to address their issues; candidates wait for youths to vote
University of Illinois student Monika Patel sits in a lecture hall on a
Friday night, not because she is waiting for class to get out, but because
she has come to watch the a presidential debate for extra credit.
“I am actually very interested to learn about the issues,” the 18-year-old
said. The candidates talk about Iraq, tax cuts and health care – issues that
potentially affect Patel. But candidates tend to discuss how the issues
affect all ages groups...... Read more
|
|
What's new:
In the I-Elect survey, the influence of media was the third
strongest factor in forming their political opinions
|
|
Bottom
Line:
Politicians don't pay enough attention to
the youth vote. Historical reasoning says that this is because
youths don't tend to vote, therefore they get ignored; and the youth
don't vote because they're ignored by politicians. Quite the
'Vicious cycle.' |
|
|
Shaping the way youths vote
Family, religion and community help
determine whether students will vote on Election Day
Voter registration drives have flooded campuses. Student organizations
advertise mass viewings of debates. College Democrats and College
Republicans can be found preaching their party agendas with attempts to lure
wavering students.
But experts say you can rock the vote all you want, but chances are, it
won’t do a thing. Most students already have made the decision of whether to
vote before they set foot on campus.......
Read more
|
|
What's new:
Voter registration drives have flooded campuses. Student
organizations advertise mass viewings of debates.
|
 |
Bottom
Line:
Sixty-seven percent of eligible 18- to
24-year-olds failed to vote in the 2000 general election, according
to the U.S. Census Bureau. While overall voter turnout has decreased
since 1972, the decline in the youth vote has been much sharper.
Important to know:
Most students already have made the decision of whether to vote
before they set foot on campus |
|
|
Underemployment has its benefits
Lack of insurance causes problems for
students after graduation
Caleb Kietzman, at age 23, landed in the emergency room after a hard night
of partying. He said he had his stomach pumped because he drank too much
alcohol. Total cost: $2,800.
Kietzman, now 27 and living in Springfield, Ill., had already received his
associate’s degree and was taking time off from school before going back for
his bachelor’s degree. Without insurance, a hospital bill was the last thing
he wanted..... Read more
|
|
What's new:
Many students run into problems with without insurance.
|
|
Bottom
line:
Student insurance plans don't last forever.
Given these circumstances can make life difficult for students after
graduation. Finding a job with benefits should be a priority. |
|
|
No place like home
Absentee Ballots hard to find in
Illinois
College culture is built around the daily use of the Internet. Students use
it to check their e-mail, do online homework, check account balances, read
the day’s news and even pay tuition.
But in most Illinois counties, students cannot use the Internet to help in
their quest for an absentee ballot..... Read more
|
|
What's new:
I-ELECT survey of students at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, 41 percent of students plan to vote in their home
counties
|
|
Bottom
line:
Absentee voters aren't nationally supported.
The Internet is of little or no use to absentee voters who want to
vote from their home state. Absentee ballots are hard to get in
Illinois |
|
|
Students look to media to get their news,
form their political opinions
The television still dominates
information dissemination
Students surveyed by I-ELECT also gave a lot of weight to the news. The
influence of media was the third strongest factor in forming their political
opinions, after family and where they grew up.
“What people know about politics, to a great extent, is what they get from
the news media,” said former Gov. Jim Edgar, now an analyst at the Institute
of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois. “Not many of
them go to Springfield, not many go to Washington, not many have dealt with
an elected official.”..... Read more
|
|
Bottome Line:
In the I-Elect survey, the influence of media was the third
strongest factor in forming their political opinions
|
 |
Sidebar:
Television was the highest rated media. Students ranked
newspapers second. Internet news sites came in third. Talk radio and
Internet blogs both were least used, according to the survey.
|
|
< Previous Page |
