Candidate Clark displays a Wesleyan sweatshirt at his rally on
on campus.
something which leaves off as soon as reached. It is not a public chore to be gotten over with. It is a way of life." — Plutarch
Senior communications major Mae Green, a member of the Virginia Beach chapter of Lady Republicans, has voted since she turned 18. Now 22, she describes herself as a political junkie who is attempting to establish a local chapter of Black Republicans.
“I vote, I write my Congressmen, I watch C-Span all the time…I have an active voice,” she said.
“This is your country. Our kids have to live in it and their kids have to live in it. Everyone has to take responsibility and look at the bigger picture.”
Green was one of more than 200 students and community members who gathered in Jane P. Batten Student Center on Feb. 7 to hear General Wesley Clark, Democratic presidential nominee hopeful, speak prior to his defeat in the primaries.
Wesleyan played host to the Clark campaign rally at the invitation of Heather Denis, a senior political science major from New Hampshire. Denis called Clark organizers earlier that week learning that a site had not yet been selected and invited him to Wesleyan.
Learning they had yet to nail down a location for the rally, Denis didn’t hesitate.
“I found myself saying, ‘I’m a student at Virginia Wesleyan and we have a really nice campus, with plenty of room.’ After we hung up the phone I was like, ‘what have I done? I just invited this candidate to come speak on campus and I haven’t even asked permission!’ We called the dean and President Greer and they were supportive. The school was really great for letting us do this, especially at the last minute.”
“That was really awesome, it was a great honor to have him here to speak to us,” said sophomore Tara Arthur. A political science major from Ashburn, Va., Arthur is president of the campus Young Democrats. She continually tries to coax her fellow classmates to vote.
“Students here are a slow mix,” said Arthur. “Once you start talking with them about getting to know the candidates so they can vote, they’re like ‘I guess…it’s a little early, don’t you think?’ But I’m like…this is an ongoing thing. It doesn’t stop and start up again in seven years.”
Whether student-initiated activities like the Clark visit will spur more college students to head to the polls in November is yet to be seen.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, less than 20 percent of people ages 18-24 voted in the 1998-midterm elections. Projections for the November 2004 race run as high as 27 percent. Yet, when referring to this age group, experts use adjectives like apathetic and indifferent.
Junior political science major Kevin Bianco recognizes the challenges faced by his generation. “If we’re apathetic, it’s in part because our parents’ generation handed it down to us. We’re the second generation of apathy and that’s what we’re trying to combat.”
Regarding voting in the last presidential election, Bianco observed, “Only a small percentage of the population chose President Bush, because such a small percentage of United States citizens even voted. Even in comparison with other democracies, it’s embarrassing. And we’re supposed to be a model?”
Bianco pointed out that all too often, people talk about the act of voting as the only way to be involved. “Voting is important but it’s definitely not the answer,” he said. “Nothing can compare to getting involved in your community and volunteering. People need to feel they are interconnected and that their decisions affect others. People think their voice doesn’t matter. With a little bit of reflection, you realize that it’s not wasting your time to go to a Wednesday night neighborhood watch meeting. It’s something that’s going to make your neighborhood safer in the long run.”
Well over five million college students in the nation give time and service to their communities each year for a value of more than $17.5 million in volunteer time served, according to CampusCares, a project sponsored by a broad coalition of national higher education associations.
CampusCares is designed to identify, recognize and encourage involvement and community service on college campuses. According to CampusCares co-chair Elizabeth Hollander, executive director of Campus Compact, co-sponsor of the grant that funded Wesleyan’s “Is Democracy a Dinosaur?” dialogue series; community volunteerism on the part of college campuses is “the most under-reported story in higher education today.”
While it may be under-reported, volunteerism among college students appears to be alive and well.
Tracy Cedono, 22, a senior from Portsmouth, votes and volunteered to work the polls in the 2000 election. But she also takes her civic involvement a step further. Last fall Cedono coordinated Make a Difference Day for the college. The event, sponsored by Volunteer Hampton Roads, drew 20 students from VWC, many of whom volunteered their time to trim hedges and paint at the Portsmouth Humane Society.
“Community service shows your character,” said Cedono. “It shows you care and want to help. You can do something for people and see the immediate results.”
Elizabeth Allen, 19, a freshman from Richmond, voted last year in a city bond referendum just as soon as she was eligible. An avid volunteer with her church youth group since high school, she helped Cedono at Portsmouth Humane Society during Make a Difference Day and has volunteered for other similar initiatives.
“I realized when I came to VWC that I can learn a lot through volunteer work,” Allen said. “You become appreciative of what you have. I especially liked working with the kids at the Boys & Girls Club in Norfolk on Martin Luther King Day. They were so positive and appreciative of the attention. It’s crucial to get involved. You have no right to complain if you’re not willing to do something to change things.”
Volunteerism requires risk-taking, but the rewards are worth it, said Allen.
“You have to put yourself out there,” she said. “I’ve learned that some people who are down on their luck often have better family values than people who are better off financially. I think the way to change things is to work with children, because they are impressionable. That’s how we can change things.”
Brian Rust, 21, a senior from Richmond, is co-president of VWC’s Habitat for Humanity Chapter. Like many students, he finds volunteering intrinsically rewarding.
“It’s fulfilling to be able to help someone get ownership in their own house. It makes me feel good. I see it’s a privilege to help others. There may be a time I need help. I think it’s like that song says, ‘Don’t let the chain of love end with you.’ Eventually, what you do gets back to you. The more people that help out the better off we’ll all be.”
Idealistic? Perhaps. But faculty members at Wesleyan are encouraged by what they’re seeing in Generation Y-ers.
“I would love it if our students ended up leaving here and being better citizens of the United States,” said Craig Wansink, professor of religious studies.
“Colleges try to teach knowledge, skills and disposition. Knowledge is great and skills are essential but what we're really trying to do is get people to think differently in terms of community. I think we’re doing that.”