Voting: A
Collegiate Sister's Perspective
By Sara Peck
(Beta-Northwestern)
There’s a
definite popular idealism about both youth and Washington,
D.C., both of which collided this summer somewhere between
106 degree heat and my first non-food service job. I was
determined to make my contribution to political journalism,
notebook in hand and impractical shoes blazing. Even I, the
proudly snarky cynic was so excited to live in the Capitol
the summer before an election year.
I’ll admit, at first, I was disappointed. Foolish were my
visions of flag-clad protestors trying to burn down Capitol
Hill as I interviewed them. My first stories were briefs
composed mostly of phone interviews and Internet research.
Adjusting to life in Washington, as in any other city, was
defined by semantics more than the grand life-defining
moments of summer blockbusters. I had to find the grocery
store, navigate the subway, and toe the line between
business casual and beach formal (my verdict: pearls make
everything office-appropriate). On paper, I should have been
ecstatic. I was voting in my first election in the first
race where a woman, a former intern in D.C., was a serious
contender for the Democratic nomination and in which, for
the first time in history, a woman is the Republican nominee
for vice president. The election was less than six months
away. Politicians and other amazing interns were flooding
into the city just as I arrived.
It wasn’t so much the place that made my summer, it was the
people.
Of the 334 program participants, 228 were female. They were
some of the most talented, genuine and driven women that I
had met. Sure, the first day we all looked pretty ridiculous
wandering around the metro station in ill-fitting suits
looking like kids wearing our parents’ clothes, but soon
enough we blended into the crowd.
There’s been much said about apathy and disinterest college
students harbor about politics and current events in
general. I don’t really believe this. And they weren’t, as
political pessimists say, overly privileged private school
kids. They came from private and public schools in many
different countries with so many amazing experiences. One
25-year-old woman had a young child at home who she left to
intern at a radio station. She obviously had other
obligations, but chose to come to D.C. and get involved in
politics.
Even if these amazing students are anomalies, election
statistics are also promising. In the 2000 presidential
election, 18 million 18-30 year olds voted, about 17 percent
of the overall turnout. This number increased to more than
21 million in 2004, accounting for 19 percent of the voter
turnout increase from 2000-04. College students, the younger
half of this demographic, certainly have the capacity to
influence the election.
D.C. was a wonderful experience, but for none of the reasons
that I had thought. I was sure that I’d uncover horrible
injustices in politics and then resolve to change the world.
What I found was a sense of optimism knowing that there is a
diversity of young people who honestly care about changing
our country.
I’ve learned things will never look just like you expect.
Politics are something I’ll always be passionate about, but
now more realistically so. Washington isn’t full of the
campy patriotism of some history textbooks, but it also
isn’t a cold world of deception and elitism. Like life, it’s
easy to get caught up in the tiny boredoms if you
romanticize reality.
But somehow, this seemingly mundane mass of papers and
scheduling lends some greater meaning. Life isn’t some
aggregate of metro cards, e-mails and the titles on business
cards, and neither was my summer. Sometimes I’d let down my
guard of cynicism and notice how pretty Georgetown
townhouses were—red, blue, yellow almost haphazardly stacked
along cobblestone streets. Sometimes I’d listen to snippets
of conversation on my walk from work to the subway and
realize that the two women next to me were more interested
in bills than Manolo Blahniks.
I might just swallow my cynicism this November and admit that
voting does mean a lot to me. Sure, I’m just filling out one
piece of paper among millions, but it’s still something a
woman can get excited about.
Sara Peck is
a sophomore at Northwestern University. She spent her summer
interning as a reporter for the
National Defense Magazine in Washington, D.C., and
participated in the Institute on Political Journalism.
Besides serving as the alumnae relations director for her
chapter, she is a varsity fencer, writes for The Daily
Northwestern and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.
She also freelances some of her work and hopes to someday
become an investigative reporter at a major newspaper.
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