More college students 'Rock the Vote'
Kayla Flynn
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News
The 2008 Presidential race is steadily gaining speed as the months go on and with Super Tuesday in the recent past this election may be looking for the youth vote more than ever.
Youth oriented television networks like MTV have been pushing the importance of registering and voting in the fall.
Campaigns geared toward youngsters, like Rock the Vote, which was founded in 1990, have in recent years gained popularity amongst the media.
Both youth oriented networks and these campaigns eagerly are trying to show young people that their vote not only matters but they can have the power to cause change.
Their efforts have been paying off.
According to a research poll conducted by Young Voters Strategies, which is a research and polling group affiliated with George Washington University, votes cast by 18-29 year olds in the 2000 election increased from 15.9 million to 20.1 million in 2004.
The rise in political interest occurring amongst the future of the nation can be seen on a more personal scale. The political buzz has hit Salve Regina and students were more than eager to talk about their political views when interviewed.
"I think a lot more people our age will vote this election as opposed to those who were our age in 2004," said Benjamin Cote, a junior Cultural and Historical Preservation major.
Cote stated that he thinks the increased amount of press and emphasis put on voting nowadays will increase the number of youths who will actually participate.
A Salve Regina junior, Kristina Peterson has been registered and waiting for this election since she was 18.
"It was my 18th birthday present to myself," said Peterson, a double major in Psychology and Spanish with a minor in Business Administration.
Peterson, 20, considers foreign policy her determining factor when it comes to whom she is going to vote for.
"Traveling to other countries really helps you see how your country is viewed from someone else's perspective," said Peterson who spent the fall semester in Argentina.
Youth oriented television networks like MTV have been pushing the importance of registering and voting in the fall.
Campaigns geared toward youngsters, like Rock the Vote, which was founded in 1990, have in recent years gained popularity amongst the media.
Both youth oriented networks and these campaigns eagerly are trying to show young people that their vote not only matters but they can have the power to cause change.
Their efforts have been paying off.
According to a research poll conducted by Young Voters Strategies, which is a research and polling group affiliated with George Washington University, votes cast by 18-29 year olds in the 2000 election increased from 15.9 million to 20.1 million in 2004.
The rise in political interest occurring amongst the future of the nation can be seen on a more personal scale. The political buzz has hit Salve Regina and students were more than eager to talk about their political views when interviewed.
"I think a lot more people our age will vote this election as opposed to those who were our age in 2004," said Benjamin Cote, a junior Cultural and Historical Preservation major.
Cote stated that he thinks the increased amount of press and emphasis put on voting nowadays will increase the number of youths who will actually participate.
A Salve Regina junior, Kristina Peterson has been registered and waiting for this election since she was 18.
"It was my 18th birthday present to myself," said Peterson, a double major in Psychology and Spanish with a minor in Business Administration.
Peterson, 20, considers foreign policy her determining factor when it comes to whom she is going to vote for.
"Traveling to other countries really helps you see how your country is viewed from someone else's perspective," said Peterson who spent the fall semester in Argentina.
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