Featured representatives from MTV and other organizations trying to mobilize young voters, spoke last night about the history and power of the youth vote, issues behind it in this election and, especially, voter apathy among the younger population.

The event was held in the 1916 room in Bird Library, which is capable of holding 90 people. But not one student, staff or faculty member turned out for the satellite downlink broadcast.

But this election still might bring out the younger population in high numbers, said Matt Catapano, director of MTV Research and Planning, with 75 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 registered to vote and saying this is the most important election of their lifetime.

The youth vote could play an important role in the upcoming election with Democratic candidate John Kerry leading President George W. Bush 46 to 40 among the 18-29 demographic, Catapano said. But, he added, young people are diverse in their views, with a third Democrats, a third Republicans and a third independent.

‘Whoever is in office will be there because of these young people,’ said Rosario Dawson, one of the speakers, and actress and cofounder of Voto Latino.

Issues identified by the speakers as important to teens were employment and the economy, with youth experiencing the worst summer job market since World War II.

When asked how the presidential candidates are adapting to a possible influx of interest from young voters, Ben Ferguson, representative from the Bush-Cheney Campaign at the presentation, said Bush understands this age group because they are ones fighting the war on terrorism, one of the main focuses of the Bush campaign.

‘(Bush) realizes it’s time to stop talking about (youth) and start talking to (youth),’ Ferguson said.

To get younger voters out to the polls, panelists said it was important to change the way they saw voting as whole. A big focus of those marketing this election is branding the fact that voting is cool, said Alexis McGill, executive director of Citizen Change, a voter advocacy group.

‘We’re building the mechanism to keep it going for the young people who come after us,’ McGill said.

Other factors come into play when considering the youth vote in the election, panelists said. For example, Ferguson stressed that poll results may be incorrect as they do not include youth voters who do not have home phones and instead use cell phones.

‘You have to think outside the bubble,’ Ferguson said. ‘We have to change the stigma that we are uneducated voters. Ignorance in voting is the worst thing we can do.’

Chen Fong, a junior majoring in accounting and finance, came into the presentation halfway through and was only there because he was employed by the library to supervise the downlink.

‘It (the downlink) was insightful for youths,’ Fong said. ‘It touched on a lot of the basics we are concerned about. It would have been better if more people showed up.’

Published on September 30, 2004 at 12:00 pm