Time for a political revival, 2 groups say

By Ryan Groshong

Following an election year that set a record for voter turnout among young people, Santa Clara student political leaders have noticed that many students have lost their political zeal, a trend they find troubling and hope to change.

Marie Dominguez-Gasson, president of the Santa Clara College Republicans, saw the number of active members of her organization more than double during election season.

"We had a ton of fun on campus. Our numbers were really great, we had a lot of people come out and participate in our activities," she said.

Jenica Mariani, co-chair of the College Democrats, attributed the increased interest to the controversy stirred by those issues debated by the candidates.

"The election really generated an initial interest in politics from people who had never cared before," Mariani said. "The issues that were brought to the table are pretty volatile: gay marriage, Iraq, the economy, Supreme Court nominations, abortion, these are all issues that are inflammatory and people have an opinion about them."

Mariani also spoke about the intense media coverage surrounding the election.

"Access to media for students has increased dramatically," she said. "24-hour news cable stations, as well as online services, have started to really attract student interest and made political issues much more accessible to them than ever before."

Organizations like Rock the Vote, Vote for Change, and P. Diddy's Vote or Die Campaign also aimed to register young voters.

On Nov. 2, 2004, more 18 to 30-year-old voters went to the polls than any election year since 1972, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Over 21 million 18 to 30-year-olds voted, which is over 50 percent of the age demographic. There were six million more young voters in 2004 than in 2000.

In the 10 "battleground" states, 64 percent of eligible youth voted, a 13 percent increase from the year 2000.

Since the election, however, the intensity surrounding politics has died down considerably according to Daniel Parames, president of the Political Science Student Association.

"It's the student mentality, I think. At Santa Clara, we live in a bubble; you see everything through a filter," Parames said. "So when the elections were over, it wasn't the main thing anymore. People had other personal, more pertinent issues."

Many students had also simply grown tired of being constantly surrounded by politics, said Dominguez-Gasson.

"I think a lot of people were glad it was over," she said. "There was so much hype, so much activity. It was an election that had been going on for an entire year and it had affected every part of our lives, it was in music, clothes, on TV, in commercials, it was everywhere."

Dominguez-Gasson also said that active membership of the College Republicans has decreased to numbers slightly higher than membership prior to the election season.

The dip in political interest has motivated senior Caitlyn Giley to attempt to publish a politically-oriented newspaper on campus, The Haribinger Political.

The Harbinger is applying for various funding grants, and the organizers hope to have an issue in print by the end of the quarter.

Giley believed that one of the main causes of the lack of political interest on campus was the lack of outlets for political activism.

"I think one of the major problems with people who are now interested in politics is that there aren't that many outlets for them, especially if they are Kerry supporters," Giley said.

As the editor of The Harbinger, Giley hopes to change the political environment at Santa Clara.

"Santa Clara is not a political campus, and I think that needs to change," she said. "That's one of the major premises of The Harbringer. I don't really care if it goes one way or the other just that there's actually political action."

Many political activists on campus agreed that students should still be following politics, even though the next presidential election isn't until 2008.

"Certain issues like gay rights, abortion issues, the economy, and Supreme Court nominations will have far future impacts, not just the next four-year term," said Gariety Preuitt, the other College Democrats co-chair.

Dominguez-Gasson believed that the job market, the strength of the economy and Social Security should be main concerns for college students who will be entering the workplace in the coming years.

One point of disagreement between the College Democrats and Republicans was the possibility of a draft.

"If they go into Iran it is very likely that a draft will open up and that is something that young people should be very, very concerned about," Mariani said.

Dominguez-Gasson, however, disagreed that a draft was a possibility.

"I really don't see a draft being necessary. I don't see it as a current issue. I understand why people would be afraid of that, but right now there's tons of troops, tons of people in reserves, there's people being recruited every day," Dominguez-Gasson said. "Not only that but politically it would be a terrible move for the people in power right now."

Still, some of the political interest garnered by the election continues.

According to Catherine Mastroieni, president of the Pro-Life Club, political interest created by the election helped the club create an e-mail list of over 50 members in its first year.

Likewise, according to Mariani, the e-mail list of the College Democrats has more than tripled from 75 to over 300 since the primary season, and continues to grow at a steady rate.

"In 2005 when really consequential decisions are being made like life and death in Iraq, it's worth knowing," Mariani said.

* Contact Ryan Groshong at (408) 554-4546 or rgroshong@scu.edu.