The latest New York Times “Room for Debate” turns to the large but complicated “power of the youth vote.” With a focus on engagement from college students, the New York Times asks the question, “are college students really an important constituency?”
Pollster Frank Luntz is quite fond of “the snapchat generation.” While they may not vote or think as he does, they “respond, above all else, to authenticity.”
In their support for Bernie Sanders, he points to how similar young people “singlehandedly gave Barack Obama the nomination and eventually the election.”
On Sanders:
However, “college students are inconsistent voters for a reason,” as political scientist Quentin Kidd noted. He spoke of the success by Obama and Sanders, but also focused on the difficulties college students face in voting. It mostly comes down to an issue of residency, which may persist after college.
On the effect of college students, Bianca Brooks, a journalist and sophomore at Columbia University, calls it a “divisive” one. She felt “ostracized” on campus, and closes with a warning:
If the university does not reclaim and reform political discourse, students will be unable to find the middle ground necessary not just to be sensible voters, but effective political leaders of the future.
A USA Today/Rock the Vote poll reflected that many millennials think there are more effective ways to be involved rather than voting. Brian Stascavage spoke to that in how “young people are having an impact beyond the voting booth.”
While young people have been behind opposition for Donald Trump, both he and Sanders also have a large presence on Reddit.
They also “are fluent in other forms of social media,” which makes them “the new grassroots.”
While the “youth vote is [regarded as] a valuable constituency,” it is harder to see that point when Stascavage closes with “they may not show up on Election Day.”
