THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611020043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SAMANTHA LEVINE AND PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: 97 lines
Local college students plan to vote for President Clinton by a nearly two-to-one margin, according to a survey of 110 people at three schools.
But they show about as much eagerness for participating in Tuesday's election as they would for taking an organic chemistry final.
Nearly half the students surveyed - 52 - classified their peers as ``not very interested'' in the election. ``I haven't had a discussion with anybody at ODU about politics, except one person,'' said David Spruill, a sophomore at Old Dominion University from Virginia Beach.
Catherine Young, a senior at the College of William and Mary from Los Angeles, said, ``Apathy is a product of our age group - not many kids see public policy as affecting them. Picky economic policies are not that accessible. We are not used to the paradigm of being responsible for the things that shape our lives.''
No candidate has sparked the enthusiasm that some students voiced for Bill Clinton in 1992 or for Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Few cars on campus parking lots feature bumper stickers for any of the candidates, and fewer dorm rooms promote the presidential preferences of their residents.
``There is a concern about the choices being offered,'' said Glen Sussman, assistant professor of political science at Old Dominion. ``That's depressing the enthusiasm (on campus). It's a reflection of what's going on nationwide.''
Sussman said Clinton excited more students during his first run because he was a ``new candidate'' and worked hard to attract the young vote with appearances on MTV and ``The Arsenio Hall Show.'' Now, Sussman said, Clinton is primarily targeting middle-class suburban voters. And students, like other Americans, are growing more wary of Clinton's ``character problems.''
But a heavy majority is still flocking to Clinton. In a survey of 110 students at three universities - W & M, ODU and Norfolk State - 71, or 65 percent, said they would vote for Clinton. Thirty-seven, or 34 percent, planned to vote for Bob Dole. One percent either was undecided or didn't plan to vote. No one supported Ross Perot.
A Gallup Poll in September showed Clinton with a slightly narrower, but still sizable, lead among 18- to 29-year-olds. Fifty-two percent said they supported Clinton, 28 percent Dole and 7 percent Ross Perot.
Sussman said it's not Dole's age but his politics that are turning off many young voters. ``Students, as well as other voter groups, have difficulty understanding his explanation of how he's going to do what he wants to do'' in cutting taxes.
Many students fear, in particular, that their ticket to higher education - student loans - will be trimmed back by Dole to subsidize the tax cuts. ``Clinton's trying to do more for students, and Dole's trying to take away our funds,'' said Charletta Horne, a junior from Suffolk at Norfolk State.
Students offer a variety of reasons for the tepid response to the election: annoying red tape to get absentee ballots, lack of interest in the issues, no time to keep up with newspaper articles and C-Span debates.
Being away from home - and local issues - also feeds their alienation. ``I have little relation to my hometown because I've been in college for four years,'' said William and Mary senior Shana Gibson of Halifax, who will not vote.
Despite Perot's candidacy, Gibson also complains that there aren't enough choices. ``We are stuck in a Republican/Democratic way of thinking,'' she said. ``Individuals that represent other parties don't have a say and really can't get into politics. Our system can't satisfy the needs of the people.''
But Greg Rotz, a senior at W & M from Waynesboro, Pa., said these are mostly convenient excuses to remain lazy. ``We should be playing a pivotal role in this election,'' Rotz said. ``Saying issues don't affect us and it's all political rhetoric is very shortsighted. Educated 18- to 25-year-olds concerned about the future should make an effort to stay informed.''
Though many worried about the future of student loans, the issue that most concerned students was welfare reform. About half said it was one of the most important issues. ``If they keep cutting it, crime rates will get high,'' said Lovette Heath, a Norfolk State freshman from Chesapeake. ``People will be hurting each other. It's going to get out of control.''
More than half the students - 59 - classified the job Clinton was doing only as ``fair.'' But a few were strongly supportive of the president.
``Clinton is going to make sure we're going to learn what we need for the 21st century, so when we take over, we can lead the country,'' said Malcolm Jones, an ODU freshman from Hampton. ``I believe he's got the light of the future.''
Lauren Schmidt, a senior at William and Mary from Colorado, said, ``Bob Dole is a moderate at heart, but the (Republican) party and the Christian right have control over him now. People our age that would have voted Republican will vote for Clinton because we are more socially liberal and can't in good conscience vote for Dole.''
In 1992, 43 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in the presidential election. That represented a 7 percent increase from the 1988 turnout, said Sanford Horwitt, director of the First Vote registration drive run by People for the American Way. But it was still less than the 55 percent participation rate for all adults in the 1992 election.
Sussman, the ODU professor, believes that the percentage of students - and others - voting this time will probably drop. Horwitt, though, is hopeful that programs such as his organization's First Vote project will send a growing number of students to the ballots. First Vote, he said, has registered 400,000 young voters this year.
``We have to have at least two elections with increased voter participation before we can really say that we have a new upward trend,'' Horwitt said. ``I guess we'll see the day after the election.''
KEYWORDS: PRESIDENTIAL RACE 1996 COLLEGE STUDENTS by CNB