Engaged students today, active citizens tomorrow
By David Williams
Once upon a time, students wore their hearts on their tie-dyed sleeves, and campuses served as the setting for sit-ins, picketing and riots. Those were the days.
The ’60s and ’70s might have been the heyday of public student activism, but that doesn’t mean today’s campus communities are politically numb. And if students aren’t as visibly engaged in the goings-on of government, that doesn’t mean they aren’t involved.
But perhaps the biggest question involving students and politics is this: Come election day, will they play their part in the democratic process?
Young voter momentumExperts probably would have bet against a college-aged voter heading to the polls in the ’80s and ’90s. In 2004, however, young voters dramatically reversed a near-continuous, 30-year trend of dwindling participation. More 18–24-year-olds voted in that election than in any other since 1972, when 18–20-year-olds won the right to vote.
And indications show that young voter turnout will continue to rise.
David Siemers, an associate political science professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, notes that the closely contested 2000 presidential election galvanized American voters, proving to the populace that every vote truly can make a difference.
“As with the adult population, students are more likely to vote the more they feel something is at stake,” Siemers said. “With 2008 being a presidential year, students will almost surely turn out in force again.”
The recent resurgence of young voter participation is no happy accident. National initiatives, such as the American Democracy Project, New Voters Project, Rock the Vote and Young Voter Strategies, have targeted college-aged citizens in an attempt to impress upon them the importance of exercising their right to vote.
Elizabeth Bennion, an associate political science professor at Indiana University South Bend and campus director for the American Democracy Project (ADP), recently served as principal investigator for a multicampus voter registration experiment.
“Overall, we found that professor presentations in the classroom increased registration rates by 5–7 percent, while peer presentations increased registration rates by 2–5 percent. E-mail also raised participation by a small amount,” she said.
UW Oshkosh was one of the universities that helped compile the ADP’s data in 2006.
“Our main task was getting deputized so we could register people to vote,” said Brandon Strand, a senior political science student at UW Oshkosh.
Strand was one of about a dozen student interns who set up tables in Reeve Memorial Union, visited classes and coordinated events, including roundtable discussions, a debate between candidates, an election preview and a post-election analysis.
“More than 1,700 students came out to vote, which was a 59-percent increase from the 2002 midterm election. It was really satisfying for us because it proved that we had gotten the information out there to students,” Strand said.
Getting a student to vote is the first step in cultivating a politically engaged population. According to “Winning Young Voters: A Guide to Youth Vote Organizing,” someone who votes in two consecutive elections is likely to be a voter for life.
Calling all educatorsBeyond internships and nationwide initiatives, Jim Simmons, political science department chair at UW Oshkosh, sees the classroom as an opportunity to engage students politically.
“I try to get students to think critically and to have classrooms where students are contending over issues. I’m just the referee,” he said.
Some of his course assignments require student participation, such as working for a political party or campaign organization. Additionally, Simmons gives extra credit to students who can successfully predict election outcomes.
Baodong Liu, an endowed professor of political science at UW Oshkosh, notes that bringing electoral candidates into classes can mobilize students. He also incorporates current issues into classroom discussions.
“It should be the university’s responsibility to educate students about the political process. We need to be civic, open-minded and scientific. But I personally believe that it’s up to students to make up their own minds, and we as professors are playing a very important role by providing context rather than just forcing them to participate,” he said. Liu notes that all educators, not just political science professors, have a responsibility to nurture political dialogue.
“After all, nobody can explain politics completely by politics alone; there’s also history, psychology, philosophy and so on,” he said.
Tony Palmeri, associate communication professor at UW Oshkosh, also regularly encourages discussion of current events in his classes. He sees his role as more than just providing students with job skills.
“I think the core of the liberal arts is a concern with ethical citizenship, so I believe it’s the responsibility of all professors — especially those of us in the liberal arts — to try and awaken a civic consciousness,” said Palmeri, who followed local politics as a media critic for 10 years before being elected to the Oshkosh Common Council in 2007.
“We need to realize that our students are actors in a society, and they, like their professors, have a responsibility to be involved in this society. That’s what democracy is all about.”
Courting controversyIf students sometimes give the topic of politics the cold shoulder, Bennion has found that nothing breaks the ice like a good controversy.
“I think it is important to talk about controversial political issues. Students often enroll in these courses with little knowledge of politics,” said Bennion, who teaches a course called “American Political Controversies.”
“After the course, these students unanimously report that they will recommend the course and the instructor to their friends,” she said.
Bennion thinks it’s a mistake for professors to shy away from discussing political controversies out of fear of introducing bias into the classroom.
“A well-informed instructor can make sure that all viewpoints are fairly represented and considered, regardless of her own point of view,” she said. “I hope more instructors will rise to the challenge of introducing politics to students in a way that generates excitement and stimulates critical thinking and civil dialogue.”
Bill McConkey, an instructor with UW Oshkosh’s Center for New Learning, concurs. In fact, he takes the notion one step further, leading students by example.
“Activism is an extension of our responsibility. I’m amazed at how docile and uninvolved the academic community really is. During the Civil Rights Movement, that was not the case,” said McConkey, who describes himself as a political activist, when it comes to basic constitutional freedoms.
McConkey recently received media attention because of his challenge of the gay marriage ban in Wisconsin. He believes that by passing the amendment, the legislature eliminated U.S. constitutional protection and privilege of Wisconsin citizens. McConkey doesn’t shy away from sharing his political ideas with his students.
“If they want to debate with me, I wish they would. I’ll push their buttons. I want a heated debate,” he said, acknowledging that there is a difference between debating and proselytizing.
Politician participationWith roughly one-fifth of eligible voters falling into the 18–29 age range in 2008, it’s little wonder that politicians are turning more and more attention to young voters.
The question no longer is should politicians take the time to reach out to young voters, but how can they do it? Rep. Gordon Hintz of Wisconsin’s 54th Assembly District learned firsthand the importance of taking his campaign to students.
“The reality is you need to engage people and be willing to invest time listening to them,” he said. “I tried to focus on a few core issues that directly impacted most students — tuition, financial aid, university funding, access to birth control and civil rights.”
Hintz said he met with as many UW Oshkosh campus groups as possible before the 2006 election.
“I think many understood the message that policies won’t change until their participation increases,” he said.
Hintz ultimately received more than 70 percent of the UW Oshkosh students’ votes in a highly contested election that yielded high student turnout.
Another local elected official has come to this same conclusion: If you address issues that affect students directly, they will respond.
“Students are people who have interests in a lot of different issues,” said Sen. Carol Roessler ’72, who represents students enrolled at Fox Valley Technical College, Marian College, Moraine Park Technical College, UW-Fond du Lac and UW Oshkosh.
“I certainly think that wise candidates interact with and work with students,” Roessler said. “The campus is an integral part of the community I serve, and as a former student, I know that it’s not the campus that goes to where the candidates are.”
And it doesn’t end when the campaign is over. Elected officials benefit from visiting campuses because it builds relationships, she said. Students have the opportunity to share what is important to them, and politicians can show how they are supporting universities by finding resources for facilities, faculty and staff, and students.
“In my view, it’s all about relationships. I encourage people to come and talk to me about issues whenever they see me,” said Roessler, adding that jobs, taxes and the statewide smoking ban are of interest to students.
Information overloadAfter serving as an intern with the American Democracy Project in 2006, Greg Monson ’07, got a firsthand look at young voters’ attitudes.
“College students are reluctant to go out and research,” said Monson, who majored in political science. “A lot of people acted interested, but when it comes down to getting them to vote …”
Jim Dykstra ’68, was enrolled at the University when the political climate at campuses across the country was defined by heightened awareness and student activism.
“It was the time of Vietnam War demonstrations. In 1968, they took away draft deferment for graduate students,” said Dykstra, who, following a tour of duty in Vietnam, accumulated more than three decades of experience in senior positions on Capitol Hill, including chief of staff and legislative director to a U.S. representative and deputy assistant secretary of defense for Legislative Affairs.
“When I was in school, we didn’t have the vote until we were 21, so I would hope that students might develop an interest earlier and take advantage of that right,” he said.
There’s no shortage of opportunities for young voters to get involved or learn online. But the sheer quantity of information can intimidate anyone.
“I knew the presidents in order since I was in third grade. I like politics, but most people don’t have time,” said Karl McCarty ’06.
He took matters into his own hands when he wrote and self-published The Last One Standing, a sort of election handbook for the 2008 presidency.
“It’s a nonpartisan documentation of lack of leadership in the country,” said McCarty, who was elected to the Campbellsport, Wis., School Board while still a student at UW Oshkosh.
He believes his book, which profiles 34 candidates, appeals to young voters because it provides a factual, organized look at the candidates.
Thanks to up-to-the-minute political news and commentary online, one seldom sees a student reading an actual newspaper. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t participating in the dialogue.
“Technology has changed how people get their news and how they organize. The robust protests of the Vietnam War just don’t exist today,” said UW Oshkosh journalism alum Jim VandeHei ’95, a former political reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
In 2006, VandeHei and a colleague founded The Politico, a news publication that covers politics exclusively. The online version — www.politico.com — receives more than 2 million unique hits per month.
“I’m a firm believer that people’s media conceptions are changing rapidly, and newspapers are having a rough time adjusting. I felt that if we organized ourselves around political information and did it in a conversational style, we could really lay claim to an area that no one had yet laid claim to,” said VandeHei, Politico’s executive editor.
While Politico’s intended readership is anyone who is interested in politics, there is a specific area called Campus Politico, where college students have the opportunity to submit their own articles.
Beyond the classroomWhile the data have long shown that education increases voter turnout across the board, recent findings by the National Survey of Student Engagement indicate that the university, more than a student’s upbringing, influences whether students go to the polls.
Such findings encourage professors and administrators who already have come to realize that the college experience should be comprised of education inside and outside of the classroom.
Student engagement is one factor the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) measures. UW Oshkosh was an early adopter of this program, which provides college portraits to the public to make it easier to compare achievements of colleges across the country. (Learn more about the VSA on page 7.)
Jess King ’98, is an example of a student who realized the importance of participation even as she was working toward a degree.
King served as president of the Oshkosh Student Association 1997–1998. She also was elected by the United Council to represent 150,000 of her peers as a student lobbyist for the UW System, dealing with such issues as segregated fees and the tuition cap.
“The whole idea of having a rule of law and order is finding the best way to problem solve. You can complain about it, or you can be a part of the process,” said King, who is a member of the Oshkosh Common Council.
Strand, the senior political science student who worked with the American Democracy Project and the Oshkosh Student Association, has worked for two local political campaigns, has come to the same conclusion:
“I think my experiences at UW Oshkosh have made me aware of the fact that I have a lot to learn, that being involved in these processes never has an end,” Strand said.
“You can read your newspaper, you can vote on election day, but it’s what you do in between — in the community — that makes a difference.”