THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 4, 1996 TAG: 9610020199
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TEENS AT LARGE
SOURCE: BY SARAH WILDERMUTH, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 60 lines
The first Tuesday in November is not for kids.
However, influenced by the media and teachers many minors have political opinions as strong or stronger than their parents, especially around election time. And although they cannot cast a vote on Nov. 5, they are getting involved.
``One vote does not make much difference but when you donate a lot of time to a campaign, that has a better potential for an actual influence on people than anything else,'' said Paul G. Xenakis, a sophomore at Kempsville High School.
Local teen-agers are working at campaign headquarters conducting literature drops and mailings and attending fund-raisers. Many local government teachers give extra credit to students for working at election headquarters.
These activities do make a differnece; they save the candidates money and valuable time - savings of $50,000 and more can be had by using volunteers to stuff envelopes, said a local adult campaign worker. John Williams Pazur, youth coordinator for Republican candidate for Congress, John S. Tate, said that 90 percent of his work is aimed at capturing the attention of the media. Volunteers who can't vote are encouraged when they read about their work in the paper or see themselves on the news, Pazur said.
Pazur visits local high schools trying to get students involved in campaigning, even if it is not for his party.
Historically, citizens ages 18 to 24 vote the least. Campaign coordinators, such as Pazur try to get students started young so that by the time they can vote, they will vote.
R. Christian Haddock, a senior at Kempsville High and chairman of the Virginia High School Republicans, also works to get young people involved in the political process.
``My outlook now and for the future is that people need to get involved, young and old, and if this doesn't happen, then politics for Americans will soon be a big question,'' Haddock said.
But many teen-agers today are very opinionated and decide what political party they prefer many years before they can vote.
``I was influenced to become a Democrat a lot by my sister who worked at the Democratic Headquarters for the 1988 election,'' said Jamie L. Cohen, a member of the Kempsville High School Young Democrats Club.
Dennis Tschai, president of the Kempsville High School Young Republicans, said that he became a Republican when he started high school two years ago. Dennis and Jamie have held their ideas for many years. They know who they would vote for, even though they cannot vote.
Teen-agers interviewed for this article said that issues such as foreign policy, education, abortion, welfare and the military are all important.
``Even if my work does not have a direct impact on this year's election I will feel good that I have participated,'' said Catherine Nicholas, a senior and vice president of the Kempsville High School Republicans Club. She added that she has ``learned from the experience and will be ready to help in next year's election.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Sarah Wildermuth is a senior at Kempsville High School. by CNB