Quad City Times, IA
12-13-07
Young newcomers are savoring flavor of political process
By Barb Ickes
In a teenager’s imagination, the caucuses in Iowa will look like the New York
Stock Exchange.
“I see a very large room, crowded with different groups, separated off for different
candidates,” imagined Mark Schwenker, a senior at Davenport West High
School. “I see top-tier candidate groups with large amounts of happy-go-lucky
folks with buttons and stickers galore all over themselves, trying to recruit lowertier candidate caucus-goers and unsure voters to join them.
“From what I’ve heard about the significance of the Iowa caucus, it gives me the
visual of the New York Stock Exchange.”
For the first time in his life, the almost-18-year-old will find out what it’s really like.
Schwenker is one of nearly three dozen Quad-City high school and college
students who answered the call when Mark Ridolfi, editorial page editor of the
Quad-City Times, went looking for members of the coming-of-age electorate.
The Times’ First Vote is a local take-off on nationwide efforts to empower young
people, encourage them to learn about the presidential candidates and make
educated choices while encouraging the candidates to talk about the things that
interest student voters.
In the Times’ case, the effort includes a journalistic element.
Because of his involvement, Schwenker is one of thousands of young Iowans
who have had their foot in the revolving door of presidential candidates stumping
through the state.
He has worked as a civic journalist, covering area campaign stops and writing
about his observations online. One such stop was the Democratic debate in
September at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, which included all of the major
candidates, except for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
“Was there a winner for me then?” he asked. “No. Not really.
“It felt as if they were saying the obvious gloss-over things when it came to
issues to get a positive audience reaction.
“I have also heard (Republican presidential candidate) Fred Thompson talk,
which felt more like story time than anything else.”
He was more impressed with former New York City mayor and Republican
hopeful Rudy Giuliani.
“There wasn’t really much gray or unsure-on-where-I-stand areas from him,
which was nice,” the 17-year-old said. “Oh, and I also like (former President) Bill
Clinton’s enthusiasm for his wife.”
Another First Voter, Elizabeth Davidson, said she comes from a Republican
household but wanted to see for herself whether she agrees with her mother’s
choice for president, Mitt Romney.
“I went into this really leaning in no way,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of the
candidates.
“I read all of Mitt’s views, and I agree with him.”
Her exposure to the candidates sealed the deal so tightly, in fact, that she
volunteered three weeks ago to become an intern in Romney’s local campaign
office.
“I basically do errands, put up signs, make phone calls,” she said. “What First
Vote has allowed me to do is see all the candidates and make a choice.”
In settings more intimate than debates or public appearances, young Iowans
such as Schwenker and Davidson have had a better chance of getting answers
to questions that interest them.
Kathleen Cogan, campus organizer at Iowa State University in Ames for
Iowa Public Interest Research Group’s New Voters Project, said teenagers and
early 20-somethings have a specific set of interests, including global warming
and college tuition costs.
“Politicians aren’t talking about things we’re interested in,” she said. “They don’t
engage us.”
So, students engage politicians.
“With the New Voters Project, we force discussion on things like college
affordability,” she said. “We have people who go to every appearance and ask
questions.
“Politicians will have to pay attention to the youth vote. We’re making them talk
about issues we care about.”
And it turns out most high school and college-aged Iowans do care, she said.
“If you just ask students to go out and vote, and you give them the tools, they
will,” she said.
In addition to imposing political pressure, young Iowans also are affecting each
other through “peer-to-peer campaigns” aimed at getting students to the
caucuses, she said.
Schwenker said he has been a witness to the contagious nature of political
activism.
“I’ve never talked politics with friends before, but, as I began attending more
debates and telling them about it, my friends started saying what they were
feeling and saying who they were interested in, and I had no idea they had any
political feelings whatsoever,” he said. “Personally, I think that everyone has a
stance or feeling on something or a candidate, even though they may say they
aren’t interested at all in politics.”
And just how interested is he in this new-found arena?
“I turn 18 in January — right after the caucuses,” he said. “However, my vote will
be ready to count come election time.”
Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com.
Iowa caucuses
Date: Thursday, Jan. 3
Why: To begin the process of choosing each party’s presidential nominee
Where to go: Meeting site designated for your voting precinct and party. Caucus
sites in Scott County have been announced by the Democrats and Republicans.
Check qctimes.com/elections2008.
Time: Democratic caucuses begin at 6:30 p.m., Republicans at 7 p.m.
How it works: Republicans will conduct a straw poll among presidential
candidates for that party. Democrats will divide into candidate preference groups
to allocate “state equivalent delegates,” pledged to individual candidates.
Online: qctimes.com/elections2008
For more information: Party or candidate headquarters. In Scott County, call
(563) 324-7699 for Democrats and (563) 332-9666 for Republicans.
About First Vote: To see what Quad-City students have contributed to the
campaign for president, visit firstvote.qctimes.com.