On the Campus...
at Princeton this year, where abortion and the Supreme Court were
By Alex Rawson '01
Each year at election
time, worries seem to grow stronger that American politics is characterized
by widespread voter apathy. And whenever that issue of apathy is
raised, the principal blame seems always to fall upon "America's
youth," in particular upon the most fashionable target - the
college student. Too often that accusation seems well deserved,
but at Princeton, and during this election year, that apathy has
According to my own highly
unscientific "exit poll" (which, for the record, consisted
of asking lots of random people, in a very uncontrolled manner,
whether or not they voted and why the election was important to
them), the vast majority of Princeton undergraduates did in fact
vote, and many took considerable interest in the outcomes of many
of the national elections even before the Florida fiasco began.
In fact, tensions on
campus were high enough that at 2:30 A.M. the morning after election
day, an audible cheer rose from the dormitories when Florida was
finally (or so it seemed at the time) declared for Bush. This is
not to say that students favored the Republican ticket - the campus
actually seemed closely divided between Gore and Bush, with a slight
majority for Gore. Networks be warned, though, if they haven't already
learned their lesson, that this result is not grounds for any kind
Nonetheless, it is interesting
to consider why Princeton undergraduates, particular in this supposed
apathetic age, took such interest in the election, especially since
neither of the principal candidates made much of an effort to reach
out to younger voters in their respective campaign strategies.
For some, this election
took on special significance because it was the first presidential
election in which they could vote. No one I talked to claimed to
be voting out of a sense of civic duty, although many did say they
were voting for the lesser of two evils.
Some cited the importance
of being able to trust a candidate as the decisive factor in their
vote. Most, though, when asked what single factor made this election
important to them, cited one of several issues. And if my informal
survey can be granted any slight validity, there are only a very
few issues that resonate with Princeton undergraduates.
Far and away the most
oft-cited factor, regardless of political affiliation, was abortion
and the Supreme Court, perhaps because a reversal of Roe v. Wade
would have an immediate, tangible, and lasting impact on our generation.
Even for those who mentioned
another issue as more important, abortion was near the top of the
A few students of Woody
Woo persuasion named foreign policy issues as the principal factor
in the election, mentioning many countries, ranging from Israel
to Taiwan. Others cited a desire for the winner to show at least
competence in dealing with other leaders.
Nader supporters (who
seemed more prevalent than the 2 percent reflected in the rest of
the country) called on the balancing impact of having a viable third
party or on environmental issues as their chief concerns.
Finally, a few seniors,
faced by the prospect of suddenly having to pay their own taxes,
balked at the personal financial implications of one candidate or
the other. But beyond that, few issues cropped up with any regularity.
Most notably, almost
no one mentioned social security as a concern, and likewise no student
cited the use of the budget surplus as the most important issue
in the election.
If my survey results
are at all valid, then, the issues that resonate most strongly across
the country are largely uninteresting to college students, which
is perhaps one reason that students appear apathetic. From a slightly
more cynical perspective, one student explained, "I think we're
just abstract conservatives and liberals - we don't care about particular
issues so much at all."
If we support general
ideological positions without delving into the specific ramifications
of those positions, that, too, will appear, and to an extent is,
apathetic. But regardless of the conclusion one draws about why
students are compelled by one issue and not by another, one thing
at least is clear: Despite consistent warnings to the contrary,
political interest among Princeton undergraduates is alive and well.
While that interest may stem from different concerns than those
that later generations find compelling, it is by no means less valid
and it by no means represents collegiate disinterest. Unfortunately,
it may sometimes just look that way.