The Call of the Campaign
Part one: Students hit the road for presidential hopefuls
Click on the slide show above to learn about students canvassing for Barack Obama in Manchester, N.H.
Meghan Wieckowski (CAS’10) knows the stereotype: young people don’tvote. “Our age group is known for being apathetic about politics,” shesays, and the numbers bear her out. In the 2004 presidential election,less than half of 18-to-24-year olds cast ballots,compared with 72 percent of those 55 and older, according to the CensusBureau. But paradoxically, young Americans are also increasinglyflexing their political muscle: between the 2000 and 2004 presidentialelections, voter registration and voting by young adults increased by 7percent and 11 percent respectively, the largest increase of anydemographic group.
Wieckowski, an international relationsmajor, has sensed the energy of youth involvement in the currentpresidential race. Along with several other Boston University students,she’s been volunteering as a canvasser in Manchester, N.H., goingdoor-to-door among likely voters on behalf of a campaign. Wieckowski’scandidate is Barack Obama,and on several Saturdays this fall, she’s boarded an early-morning busto the Granite State, which will hold the nation’s first presidentialprimary, on January 8, 2008.
“The campaign is ecstatic that wehave come up. They just love the youth support,” says Wieckowski. “Itshows almost a new face to politics; it shows that in this electionwe’re really getting involved.”
Next semester, as the political season heats up, BU Todaywill run periodic stories about BU students working the campaign trail.If you’d like to be featured, please e-mail Chris Berdik at cberdik@bu.edu.
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