ELECTION Teens' interest in politics has passion, partisanship

Celebrities and the specter of the draft have helped raise awareness.
ORLANDO SENTINEL
ORLANDO, Fla. -- At an age when many young people are more interested in dating, cruising in their cars and rebelling against their parents, Benjamin Camenker is a political junkie who prefers watching candidate debates and arguing with friends about President Bush's economic and social policies.
"Getting involved in the system is what you have an obligation to do," said Benjamin, who is signed up to be a poll worker in the Nov. 2 election. "Otherwise, you have no right to complain."
Part of a wave
Benjamin, 17, president of the Young Republicans at Florida's Apopka High School, is part of a wave of young people who are not quite old enough to vote but who are, nonetheless, shaping this year's election through a level of political passion and partisanship not seen since the Vietnam War era, experts say.
"They have a sense that what an individual can do can really make a difference in history, and that's certainly something that people in the '60s felt," said Michael Kazin, a history professor at Georgetown University who specializes in politics and social movements. "A large number of young people are shoving off their cynicism about politics and activism and seeing what they can do, and that's a healthy sign for democracy."
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and rumors of a possible resumption of the military draft awakened young people to the importance of selecting their leaders, said Jamie Berry, sponsor of the Young Democrats club at Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, Fla.
The current movement of politicized youth is somewhat different from the one of their parents' generation.
Evenly divided
In high school, teens are likely to be evenly divided between conservatives and liberals, teachers said, whereas the overwhelming sentiment in the 1960s and '70s was anti-war and anti-establishment.
"There's an activism, but it's not the old-style liberal activism," said Daniel Shea, director of the Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. "It is more balanced than in the past."
This time around, the war in Iraq has galvanized young people, but a good chunk of them support Bush's policies. Christine Pfaender is among them. Christine, who pre-registered to vote in April, is ticking off the days until her 18th birthday Oct. 30. Three days later, she will help choose the next president.
"I actually think it's cool that I have a say in who's running our country," said Christine, a senior at Harmony High School in east Osceola County, Fla. "I'm really excited that my voice gets to be heard at such a young age."
Entertainers involved
The surge in teenage interest in politics has been whipped up partly by entertainers trying to make voting relevant to the MTV set.
Rappers P. Diddy, Jay-Z and 50 Cent work through Citizen Change and its "Vote or Die!" campaign.
Michael Moore, who made the anti-Bush film "Fahrenheit 911," is on a 60-city "Slacker Uprising Tour," which visited the University of Central Florida on Oct. 2.
The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network appealed to 30-and-younger and minority voters on an Oct. 6 stop in Orlando.
World Wrestling Entertainment courts the same age group with "Smackdown Your Vote!"
Suddenly, voting is cool.
"What's energizing people is a lot of activity by both partisan organizations," said Eric Plutzer, associate professor of political science at Pennsylvania State University. "It's a much more engaged effort to mobilize young people than simply teaching civics."
School trip to vote
Chris Markl and Ian Charles, teachers at Olympia High School in southwest Orange County, Fla., plan to bring social studies to life by taking about 150 students, all first-time voters, to the Supervisor of Elections Office on Tuesday to cast early ballots.
"We just want to get students excited about voting for the rest of their lives," said Markl, a Kerry supporter and, at 24, a Rock-the-Vote poster child himself.
Even younger kids are getting into the act. At Kissimmee Middle School last week, candidates for School Board, Kissimmee City Commission and other offices talked to students about ballot issues such as raising the minimum wage.
"We can start putting the seed into them that even though they can't vote, you can help the adults in your life make a better decision," said teacher Richard Eric Byrd, who helped develop the school's "Vote to Read" program.