Students and Politics

Midterm Elections for Congress: Student Involvement
The Gallup daily tracking poll taken in March reported that people aged 18-29 were the least enthusiastic about the midterm elections, which was reflected in the turnout rate this November.

According to CNN Politics, President Barack Obama urged college students to become involved in the November midterm elections because their votes make a difference. Todd Neckers, volunteer coordinator for Justin Amash,advised that the best way younger people can get involved with politics during election season is to “Go see a candidate—make yourself available for one afternoon a week and be consistent.” Most of students from Calvin College who volunteered either made phone calls, coordinated volunteer activities, wrote letters to the press on behalf of a candidate, or went door to door to deliver flyers.

For the press releases, senior Solita Hoogendam said, “They send you a write up of what to put in the papers/magazines.”

Todd Neckers says students can benefit by volunteering because it is a “good way to gain world experience and great way to network for job search.”



Students are using viral mediums to learn more about politicians rather than watching television. Senior Ariel Timm from Aquinas College said, “Facebook makes it easier for younger generations—it’s a different dynamic to the different campaigns that are going on.”

Pat Miles brought sexy back with his youth oriented campaign. He also had a group on
Facebook called Students for Miles. To relate to young voters, he had an event where young people could talk to him about his campaign over pizza and beer. Miles also came to Calvin’s campus to talk to students.

Todd Neckers said that Amash emphasized his belief in transparency and focused on the younger generation by being “The first republican in the country to post his voting record on his Facebook page.” He adds the key difference between Justin and other campaigns concerning social media is that, “Justin does it himself instead of hiring
interns to manage his page and he explains all of his votes.”