Spring Break
Young voters to play large role in election
Joshua Lemkin
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: News
There will be 29 million voters between the ages of 18 and 24 who will be eligible to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. Only a day away, the young voters are expected to be more influential in the final outcome than in previous years. To highlight the importance of youth voting, ConnPIRG showed a documentary titled, "18 in 08" on Sunday in the Student Union Theater.
UConnPIRG President Alex Nguyen explained that the documentary was meant to show the "importance of student voting."
"[College students] vote notoriously in small numbers," Nguyen said.
Prior to the film, Sean Sullivan, who is currently running for Congress in Connecticut's 2nd district, spoke to the audience. Sullivan encouraged young people to know that "it takes hard work to get where we are today," urging students to think for themselves and "take control of [their] own destiny."
The film's director, David D. Burstein, said he created the film to determine "what it means to participate" [in an election] and be a United States citizen. Burstein spent two-and-a-half years traveling around the country, accumulating more than 100 hours of footage.
"Media adds a level of transparency," Burstein said, and is increasingly influential in presidential elections.
The documentary featured notable politicians voicing their opinions about youth voting, including Barack Obama, John Kerry, George Bush, Jeb Bush and Joe Lieberman. The film also highlighted interviews with young voters who believed that their vote would not matter - a view that ConnPIRG is adamantly trying to break.
The documentary stressed that one vote can make a difference. Even 1,000 votes can sway an election, the film said.
Despite ConnPIRG's attempts to raise voter awareness, fewer than 30 peopled attended the event. Jennifer Miller, president of the UConn College Republicans, noted that the low attendance was "upsetting."
She said she thought Burstein did a "pretty good job," but that she "would have liked to see more conservative or Republican viewpoints."
Nguyen mentioned that students should still value their votes despite the opinion that Connecticut is not a swing state.
"We forget that senate and congressional races are won by small numbers," Nguygen said.
Lauren Ellis, president of UConn College Democrats, said that the film was successful in capturing the "feelings of youth voters" and did so in an "interesting and articulate way."
"[The film] reminded me why I'm doing what I'm doing," she said.
UConnPIRG President Alex Nguyen explained that the documentary was meant to show the "importance of student voting."
"[College students] vote notoriously in small numbers," Nguyen said.
Prior to the film, Sean Sullivan, who is currently running for Congress in Connecticut's 2nd district, spoke to the audience. Sullivan encouraged young people to know that "it takes hard work to get where we are today," urging students to think for themselves and "take control of [their] own destiny."
The film's director, David D. Burstein, said he created the film to determine "what it means to participate" [in an election] and be a United States citizen. Burstein spent two-and-a-half years traveling around the country, accumulating more than 100 hours of footage.
"Media adds a level of transparency," Burstein said, and is increasingly influential in presidential elections.
The documentary featured notable politicians voicing their opinions about youth voting, including Barack Obama, John Kerry, George Bush, Jeb Bush and Joe Lieberman. The film also highlighted interviews with young voters who believed that their vote would not matter - a view that ConnPIRG is adamantly trying to break.
The documentary stressed that one vote can make a difference. Even 1,000 votes can sway an election, the film said.
Despite ConnPIRG's attempts to raise voter awareness, fewer than 30 peopled attended the event. Jennifer Miller, president of the UConn College Republicans, noted that the low attendance was "upsetting."
She said she thought Burstein did a "pretty good job," but that she "would have liked to see more conservative or Republican viewpoints."
Nguyen mentioned that students should still value their votes despite the opinion that Connecticut is not a swing state.
"We forget that senate and congressional races are won by small numbers," Nguygen said.
Lauren Ellis, president of UConn College Democrats, said that the film was successful in capturing the "feelings of youth voters" and did so in an "interesting and articulate way."
"[The film] reminded me why I'm doing what I'm doing," she said.
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