08

I recently read an article about youth participation in the 2008 election. According to the article, which I found on the BBC website, "With a year to go before the 2008 US presidential elections, young Americans are poised to mark their growing engagement in politics with an ambitious online news site." The site will cover important issues for young people, in hopes of getting them involved. I am proud to see this story - a little disappointed that it's nowhere to be found on MSNBC or CNN - but proud nonetheless. One of the main points of the story is that students are frustrated with the lack of grassroots journalism about politics, and they are looking for another source for coverage. I've been to both sides of this argument. I've had jaded politics professors tell me that the likelihood of raised youth participation is very low, and that votes really don't count for much of anything at all. But overall, if young people start to vote, even if the mobilization is slow, it still makes a difference. I can state for a fact that I would visit Scoop08, a website which guarantees unbiased, honest coverage (of things that are not concerned with celebrity, sexuality, or money). Such issues to be covered, according to the article, are mostly the Iraq war, and economic concerns such as the cost of education and health care. These are the subjects at the core of this nation. It goes to show that frustration is setting in - more 18-29 year olds are voting than were their older siblings at this age. This is a step in the right direction. Thanks to media campaigns like Rock the Vote on MTV, and websites like Scoop08, young people like Ithaca College students may soon be able to make a stand in national politics.