Student View
Student and Youth Perspectives on Politics
Gary Taylor and Liam Mellor
Since the 1960s, students have had a reputation for being political. Student politics of that era challenged the old order and cast doubt upon the cold-war mentality dominant in mainstream political circles. Student radicals in Europe and in the United States were at the forefront of the peace movement and were generally regarded as left-of-centre on the conventional political spectrum. In Eastern Europe likewise, students had an important role in opposing authoritarian regimes and in helping to instigate the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia (see Majstr, 2002). Students continue to have an important role in the struggle for democracy (in China in particular) whilst at the same time being disengaged from the party system, especially in Britain and in the United States. But does this mean that students are turning against politics or are they finding new ways to participate? This review takes a look at some of the recent literature on student and youth attitudes towards politics and an attempt is made to ascertain why young people in general and students in particular are becoming disengaged from party politics and where there political interests lie. This review will look at the situation in Britain and in the United States.
Britain
The British system of party politics is in a state of poor health. Whilst the main political parties cling to centre ground so as not to alienate an increasingly apathetic public, they find they have little to inspire new generations of voters. An Electoral Commission (2002) report noted that young people are becoming more cynical towards the main political parties in Britain and that politicians are seen as being unrepresentative of the population in terms of their age, gender, class and ethnicity. Students in particular seem disinterested in party power plays and for this they are sometimes criticised. But students hit back and explain why
Gary Taylor and Liam Mellor
Since the 1960s, students have had a reputation for being political. Student politics of that era challenged the old order and cast doubt upon the cold-war mentality dominant in mainstream political circles. Student radicals in Europe and in the United States were at the forefront of the peace movement and were generally regarded as left-of-centre on the conventional political spectrum. In Eastern Europe likewise, students had an important role in opposing authoritarian regimes and in helping to instigate the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia (see Majstr, 2002). Students continue to have an important role in the struggle for democracy (in China in particular) whilst at the same time being disengaged from the party system, especially in Britain and in the United States. But does this mean that students are turning against politics or are they finding new ways to participate? This review takes a look at some of the recent literature on student and youth attitudes towards politics and an attempt is made to ascertain why young people in general and students in particular are becoming disengaged from party politics and where there political interests lie. This review will look at the situation in Britain and in the United States.
Britain
The British system of party politics is in a state of poor health. Whilst the main political parties cling to centre ground so as not to alienate an increasingly apathetic public, they find they have little to inspire new generations of voters. An Electoral Commission (2002) report noted that young people are becoming more cynical towards the main political parties in Britain and that politicians are seen as being unrepresentative of the population in terms of their age, gender, class and ethnicity. Students in particular seem disinterested in party power plays and for this they are sometimes criticised. But students hit back and explain why
Bibliography: Beem, C. (2005) From the Horse’s Mouth: A dialogue between politicians and college students (http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/WorkingPapers/WP27Beem.pdf) D’Angelo, L Dejevsky, M. (2000) ‘US Election: Hard-rocking youth gives politics a break’ The Independent, 15 October 2000, p. 21 Dillon, J Electoral Commission (2002) Voter Engagement and Young People (http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/files/dms/youngpplvoting_6597-6188__E__N__S__W__.pdf) Fitzpatrick, S Gainsbury, A. (2005) ‘Wake up and smell the coffee’ The Daily Telegraph, 12 February 2005, p. 12 Hart, P Ipsen, J. (2007) ‘A New Kind of Politics’ ( http://www.nytimes.com/ref/college/coll-essayipson.html) Johnson, M Kettle, M. (1998) ‘Apathy grips US students’, The Guardian, 13 January 1998, p. 10 Long, S Longo, N. and Meyer, R. (2006) College Students and Politics: A literature Review (http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/WorkingPapers/WP46LongoMeyer.pdf) Majstr, J. (2002) ‘Eurofile: Reflections: Youth and Politics’ The Independent, 7 December 2002, p. 24 Pew Charitable Trust (2006) Politics and the ‘Dotnet’ generation Rudebeck, C. (2002) ‘Party politics? That’s just for old people; with students more inclined to vote in Pop Idol than at a General Election’ The Independent, 14 March 2002, p. 21 Slothard, A Walter, N. (2002) ‘People are interested in policy, not politicians’, The Independent, 5 December 2002, p. 21 Whitworth, D Wolchover, J. (2002) ‘Schools: Today’s lesson: Citizenship for beginners’ The Independent, 18 April 2002, pp. 4-5