By Sandra Michaud

Confusion about the political process, lack of information and different priorities are some of the reasons that were brought forth as to why so many young people don €™t vote. A panel of high school and college students presented their thoughts on this issue at the Thursday Public Forum at Western New Mexico University €™s Miller Library.

The student panelists were Dylan Contreras and Lawrence Garcia of Associated Students of WNMU; José Garcia, a student at Cobre High School; Marco Narváez, a student at Aldo Leopold Charter School; and Grecia Rivas, a WNMU student. Madeline Alfero, a WNMU student and a teacher at Aldo Leopold Charter School, moderated the panel.

The panelists all agreed that first and foremost they were students, but that being involved in the political process was also important.

When asked if the characterization of youth as being apathetic was valid, the panelists all said that apathy was not the problem.

“I feel that the youth are not necessarily misinformed, but just not informed at all,” Contreras said. “I feel like they just need to be more educated on the subject.”

He added that political science classes would help educate youth, and presenting them with facts and letting them make up their own minds would help them get involved.

Garcia said that it was a difference in technology. “In today’s age we have so much more technology than anyone else had, that most of you had. Most of you in the audience didn’t grow up with Facebook, any type of social media, Twitter, you all had to read the newspaper, look at the news, figure out where your allegiance lies. Nowadays on your phones, you can look and get the latest news. It’s almost too much information.”

Garcia cited two studies done by The Economist, now and 30 years ago. Then, youths 18 to 21 would be married, have a job and a home and could see how voting really affected them. Now that age has risen to 27. “So you have citizens from 18 to 27 who are still single, who don’t have any children, who don’t have roots yet and are very transient,” he said.

The result is that they feel that politics really don’t affect them, he added. He said that now the way youth try to make change is by volunteering and working for charity.

Rubio agreed, saying that a lot of people don’t think politics affects them when it actually does. “It really doesn’t hit a lot of them until they’re a lot older,” he said.

Narváez said, “I feel the reason the youth, 18 to 29, don’t participate in political activities is because we feel we are under appreciated, we are thought to be irresponsible, rash, incapable of keeping up the determination which is required to have a good life.”

“I don’t see myself as lazy, I see myself as focusing on other endeavors, focusing on things that are more important to the progress of this country. I think that most of us want to become involved, we want to have a voice, it’s just that we are misinformed or not informed at all,” he added.

Rivas agreed with the other panelists about youth being misinformed, and added that the lack of encouragement by parents and educators was also a large factor. “They don’t believe in it either, so they don’t even encourage us to vote,” she said. “And also we can’t forget the millions of other students that can’t vote, like myself, I can’t vote. And it’s so ironic for me to be here talking about why should students vote, because I can’t do that, and I wish I could.”

She talked about the Dreamer Movement, of all the students who want to make a change, to be allowed to be here legally as an example of activism.

Narváez agreed that activism was still important, but that the news did not always give a clear view of what was happening, speaking of how Donald Trump is so much in the headlines, yet Bernie Sanders actually has more people attending his speeches than any other candidate.

When asked how to get youth involved the panelists had several responses. Contreras said that informing youth and giving them opportunities to be involved would help. He added that educating them on what politics is, what government is and how it works, and the values of the different parties, would be a good start.

Garcia said that involvement starts in the home with the parents showing by example, by volunteering and fighting for a cause. He also said that having a mentor would be good.

Rubio said that so many students don’t feel they have the power to change anything so they don’t speak out or vote because they don’t feel listened to. If they were shown that by voting and being involved they can be empowered, more youth would vote.

Narváez said, even though the opportunity is not the same from school to school, students need to educate themselves, not counting on just the schools to give them all the information they need. “The first step to making our age demographic become activist is to just not put too much pressure on them. They have to enjoy it. You can’t just force it.”

“Politicians are not going to address students’ needs if students don’t vote,” Rivas said. “We’re not going to be able to get a better education system, we’re not going to be able to get a better tuition rate if the students are not voting, if we’re not making our voices heard.”

The panelists then talked about things that youth felt passionate about, especially social justice. They talked about the changes that were taking place, for instance, marriage equality, climate change and sustainability. When asked if they blamed the older generation for the problems they are facing they agreed that for the most part they did not, since they felt that the “Boomers” did what they had to do at the time, and with the information they had, but that they were a catalyst for the problems youth is now facing.

“I think that instead of blaming, we need to start thinking about how to do, instead of what to do,” Narváez said.

When asked about their biggest turnoffs about politics, the panelists’ responses varied.

Rivas said that it was trying to get their voices heard and not being listened to. “Politics are not taking into consideration of what we the people really want and really need,” she said.

Narváez said that his biggest problem with politics was when politicians talk about their policies and how they want to change things, yet they do not take into account what is really happening.

Rubio said, “Unless you can vote for the senator or president or whoever’s running for office, unless you can vote for them to actually win the position, they’re not really encouraged to listen to you. And that’s what I think a big turnoff is for a lot of the kids.”

Garcia said, “I’m a little different, I don’t actually have a turnoff for politics. I enjoy the banter, I enjoy the argument, I enjoy listening to everybody convince everyone else they’re right.” He spoke about how five students from WNMU went to Santa Fe with a plan of how to get some addtional funding for the school. “We did that, five students from Western New Mexico did that.”

Contreras said that even though he, too, enjoys politics the thing that bothers him is the far left and the far right never seem to be able to find a middle ground or to compromise, and if they do, it takes far to long to happen.

Alfero, the moderator, also responded to the question. “A turnoff for me in politics is when I see a lack of compassion, or when things are said and they’re not based around love and community. So any time someone says something that doesn’t have love in it or compassion or building a better space to live in, in a loving way, I just don’t want to listen.”

The student panelists all agreed that in spite of the problems in the United States, they felt it was still a place of great opportunity.

“I think about how to engage us,” Narváez said, “First give us respect, listen to us, explain to us why things are, in a way that changes depending on each youth.”