by Duane Campbell
I am concerned. I have been tabling on my campus for the
last 4 weeks and the level of student interest/concern is extremely low. California is not a swing state in the
presidential election, but we have two very close Congressional seats and two
vital propositions; Prop. 30 that would fund public education and the universities
in this time of crisis http://www.yesonprop30.com,
and Prop. 32 –an open assault on labor Wisconsin style http://www.stopspecialexemptions.org. I estimate political interest and participation
among California students at 1/20th.
of what it was in 2008. This
estimate is based upon response to voter registration and persons asking for
and accepting literature on the propositions. It is so crass that students could actually vote themselves
a $495 rebate on their tuition – but there is scant interest.
Here is a reasonably well developed view of why the student
interest level is so low. My Vote
Doesn’t Matter, http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/09/25/essay-role-colleges-encouraging-students-vote
In part the generation that came of age in the time of
austerity has learned to not expect much from voting and government. After all, the Civil Rights Movement
and the Feminist Movement were projects of their grandparents. And, it has been a very long time since
organized labor gave us much to cheer about. ( The UFW in the 60’s- 70’s) How much engagement did you get from your grandparents’
struggles ?
My question is there something others are doing in and
around their campuses that its working? – besides writing a blog post? What can we do in the last 3 weeks? We have a local
organization with 6,000 facebook members, what would work ? And, what
can we do to prepare for the
important conflict of the fiscal crisis in November and December? Please share some ideas.
Duane Campbell
Sacramento
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