The California News Service

So I’m told there’s a “youth revolution” happening this election. Its leaders can be found scrawling witty one-liners in chalk on steps and sidewalks of campuses nationwide, holding posterboard and chanting inspirational phrases, and, of course, glued to MTV’s Rock the Vote and Saturday Night Live in their dorm rooms. Apparently, I’m supposed to be part of it. But I don’t feel any different – everyone around me in my “ivory tower” looks just the same as they did two years ago. Those who never cared much for politics still manage to walk through Berkeley’s infamous Sproul Plaza, crowded daily with student activists of every stripe, relatively unscathed. Those who do, myself included, are still trying to get them to believe that this is the most momentous election in recent memory. But perhaps we’re looking in all the wrong places.
The most revolutionary thing I’ve seen this election has been in the other youth – the ones who have jobs, bills, some even families to worry about. For me, the most radical change I’ve witnessed so far has been in Brandon, a dear friend whose daily life is occupied by community college classes, a 30-hour-a-week job, car insurance, phone bills, and living and breathing his life’s passion: NASCAR racing. In 2004, I explained to him the concept of a primary election, walked him through the process of registering to vote, and gave him a brief synopsis of what Bush and Kerry stood for, respectively. This year, he was the first to tell me Edwards had dropped out of the race, or that the Texas primary was too close to call Tuesday evening. He and many of my friends who didn’t go to four-year universities aren’t surrounded by professors, classmates, and roommates who are constantly dissecting every nuance of the campaign trail. And yet they are starting to talk, think, pay attention. They’re talking to each other, their families, and even me – feeling through the issues, forming impressions about the candidates, identifying the issues that are driving them most today. And they’re doing it all without the help of chalk, chants, or MTV, thank you very much.
-Christine Mai-Duc