THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 3, 1995 TAG: 9511030043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CARIN PRESCOTT, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
CHRIS BROCK isn't voting in Tuesday's election. In fact, he's never voted in any election. At age 25, he's chosen not to vote in two presidential elections, four gubernatorial elections and several state and local elections. Sure, he cares about what's going on in the world. He's even registered. But like many young adults, he's never seen the inside of a voting booth.
``I don't subscribe to the idea that because you are able to vote, you must vote,'' said Brock, a junior at Virginia Wesleyan College. ``Voting is a privilege and it should be used as such.''
The majority of college-age residents of Virginia exhibit similar behavior. According to the State Board of Elections, last year only 41 percent of registered 18-year-olds voted in the November elections. The record is worse for those 19 to 21 years old - only 31 percent of whom got out and voted.
``Young people don't have confidence in the government,'' said Freda Stanley, an assistant registrar in Virginia Beach. Stanley, 66, has been working elections since the early 1980s and has never seen much voting enthusiasm among college-age students. She's registered many college students, but she has also heard many others say don't care to register.
Registrars go directly to local high schools to make it as convenient as possible for students to register when they come of age. High school students can register to vote in their senior year if they turn 18 before election day.
``Now each high school has designated volunteer registrars,'' Stanley said. ``They (high schools) do make an effort, but somehow that young voter doesn't vote.''
Rachel Carlson, president of the Young Democrats organization at Virginia Wesleyan College, says high schools don't provide students with a good knowledge of politics.
``My senior government class was a joke,'' said Carlson, 20. ``It kind of turned me away from politics.''
``When I was in high school, they didn't explain the three branches of Virginia state government,'' said Patrick McCarthy, 20, of Chesa-peake.
McCarthy and Carlson are concerned about the future of our government and wish that other young adults were too.
McCarthy, a sophomore at Virginia State University, has been trying to get more young people interested in politics and voting since he was in high school. Two years ago, he and his friend Chris Taylor were responsible for the voter registration drive at Oscar Smith High School.
Until then, the school had not offerer voter registration to students. But that year, the League of Women Voters registered the majority of high school seniors who would turn 18 before the November elections.
``We saw the need for high school students to vote,'' McCarthy said. ``A good portion of the senior class got registered.''
McCarthy is well aware that most people his age have little interest in politics. He's heard plenty of reasons why. ``I've heard we're not being treated as adults, he said.
When teenagers turn 18, they are eligible to vote, and therefore considered adults, yet they can be considered dependent students up until age 24. McCarthy and others say that this leaves young people feeling more like children than adults.
Other young adults have a problem with the legal drinking age being 21. A common question asked by this group is, ``If we're old enough to vote, why aren't we old enough to drink?''
``People feel removed from politics,'' McCarthy said. ``A lot of people my age feel they don't have a big say as to what goes on in Washington.''
Vonnette Larkin, 20, president of the Political Science Association of Norfolk State University, has also seen and heard the apathy. While working voter registration drives at the college, Larkin has heard many excuses as to why students don't vote.
``The priority of students is to graduate,'' she said. ``Everything else is on the back burner.''
Many other students tell her they're not from this state and don't care about Virginia politics. They don't absentee vote in their home state because they don't know anything about the candidates running.
``Some feel their vote doesn't count,'' Larkin said. ``They don't see the direct impact. I think they're tired of voting for the less of two evils.''
Carlson attributes the low numbers of young voters to laziness.
It's easier to not vote than to go out and do something,'' she said. ``A lot of times, people fed up with politics think someone else will take care of it.''
Although Brock chooses not to vote, he insists that it is important to vote. But he doesn't believe people should vote unless they know exactly what it is they're voting for.
``I think voting matters, as long as it's an educated vote,'' he said. He believes that many voters don't really know who they are voting for.
``Like these stupid people who vote for a party,'' he said. ``They have no clue who they're voting for. A party is not the abilities of a person.''
However, McCarthy and Larkin are right in the fray, working for candidates, registering voters and hoping to one day be the face on the poster. McCarthy has been a volunteer for Bob Dole's presidential campaign since September. He is trying to organize a Petersburg headquarters. Larkin plans to go to law school and then enter politics.
To keep students informed of national, state and local candidates and their views on issues, McCarthy and Larkin offer several suggestions.
``The first thing is they (students) need to pick up a newspaper or watch the news,'' McCarthy said. ``Also, colleges need to stress the importance of staying informed on political issues. And they need a good, strong student government association.''
``Colleges should make sure they provide literature in classes,'' Larkin said. ``The decisions politicians are making are going to affect us.'' MEMO: Carin Prescott is a senior at Virginia Wesleyan College. ILLUSTRATION: Color drawing by Sam Hundley, The Virginian-Pilot
by CNB