Harvard's Voting Hypocrisy: We Say We Should, But We Don't

There are few student bodies in the nation more politically aware or community-oriented than Harvard. On a weekly basis, hundreds of students volunteer through the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA), reaching out to help Cantabrigians. The politicians who visit the Institute of Politics (IOP) speak to standing-room-only crowds.

But the same students who lottery for tickets to see Jesse Ventura and John McCain often respond with a bewildered look when asked whether they'll vote in their home state presidential primaries.

In a recent Crimson poll, more than 93 percent of respondents said they thought it was important to vote, and almost 75 percent of those polled were registered to vote.

The same poll that found three-quarters of students registered to vote, however, found fewer than one in seven students registered in Massachusetts.

And while it is more common to find students registered in their home states, many student do not vote there, either. Of the students surveyed by the Crimson, less than 22 percent had voted in a state election during the past year.

Although it is their home for nine months a year, most students are uninterested by contentious local issues such as rent control or the lack of low-income housing.

"You have to ask yourself, how much do the policies of the city of Cambridge actually affect a Harvard student?" says Marc Stad '01, president of the Harvard College Democrats.

Vote and Live Free

As chair of the IOP's Projects Committee, Stad found out firsthand how few students care about local political issues. The committee organized 30 students to go door-to-door registering voters this fall. The drive netted 1,000 new student voters, but only a few students made the choice to influence the politics of Cambridge.

Says Rachelle K. Gould '03, a new Massachusetts voters, "I figured I'm here at least nine months every year. I felt local politics affected me."

Alex P. Kellogg '00, on the other hand, decided to register in his home state of Michigan, where he'll be returning after graduation.

For many Harvard students, the idea of local politics goes only so far as the Undergraduate Council, and not beyond Harvard's gates.

"There's certainly this view that Harvard is self-contained," says Robert R. Porter '02, chair of Harvard Students for George W. Bush.

According to Stad, the ability to vote locally is a trade-off for college students.

"At the benefit of being able to affect local politics, you can't participate in the propositions or resolutions in your home area," he says. "Some feel the former is more important, most don't."

Ari M. Lipman '00 says that, on the whole, students tend to ignore Cambridge politics.

"People could be more aware of what's going on," Lipman said. "[They] see this as a temporary residence for four years."

Both Sides of the Same Coin

With no Vietnam and no Depression to define their age, it is easy for modern students to feel apathetic. For most of their lifetime, the U.S. has been without a strong enemy, and it has been in the longest peacetime economic expansion in history.

On the other hand, community service is on the rise. PBHA's programs are booming, and community service by students--high school and college--is at new highs nationwide. Such service has become almost a prerequisite for college admission.

"Students have detoured away from their civic duty [of voting]," Stad says. "What has grown a lot is community service."

But Stad says political involvement and volunteer work are not mutually exclusive.

"Both are forms of public service. They're very different and necessary," he says. "What matters is having them together."

Richard Cooper '01, vice-chair of the IOP's Student Advisory Committee, says that community service and political activism are closely related.

"A lot of students don't really see the tangible link between public service and politics," says Cooper. "That's a shame."

But some say more can be done to encourage students to vote--that just as political organizations often participate in service events, service groups should emphasize the other side of civic involvement.

Lipman says that service groups should also encourage students to consider the political side of the issues they care about.

"Community service organizations should educate the volunteers about the issues they're working with," Lipman says.

Outside the Ivory Tower

A lack of knowledge has long been one of the biggest stumbling blocks for students as politics enters their lives.

"It takes a lot of time to research to go voting," says new voter Gould. She says an advantage to registering in one's home state is that parents can help students research the elections.

College students also face state laws that force them to select a political party when they register to vote, limiting their votes in primaries to candidates of that party.

College students often have yet to make decisions about their own political views, and therefore consider themselves "Independent," rather than Democrat or Republican.

"Most people our age haven't even made up their minds," says Erin B. Ashwell '02, who participated in the IOP's voter drive.

The vast majority of the new voters netted by the IOP registered as independents--barring them from participating in many primary elections.

While some states, like Vermont, allow people to vote in any primary they wish, most do not.

Boxers in the Political Arena

For many years, political candidates concentrated their efforts on older, more established voting blocs like senior citizens. More recently, candidates have begun to realize students can be a key to winning elections and have tried to make them feel less marginalized by the political process.

Many consider an appearance by then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton on MTV in 1992 to have revolutionized the youth vote.

In that show, forever to be remembered as the "Boxer or Briefs?" interview, Clinton frankly discussed issues with students in a town hall forum and showed how youth appeal can make or break a candidate.

Some political scientists credit Clinton's victory to his success in getting out the vote among 18 to 25 year-olds.

Candidates in the 2000 election followed Clinton's lead at "College Convention 2000 (CC2k)," an event typical of large drives to get out the vote among younger Americans.

In mid January, the student organization Democracy in Practice brought hundreds of college students from around the nation to New Hampshire for CC2k.

For their part, candidates made a special effort to show they are both in touch with and care about students.

"I have a 15-year-old daughter, and I attended the MTV Awards. How 'bout that?" Republican presidential candidate John S. McCain told students at CC2k.

"I know who Puff Daddy is," he continued, referring to the popular and controversial rap artist. "I thought Busta Rhymes had a very nice dress on."

More Than Pop Culture

The candidates' messages, however, are about more than pop culture.

While making remarks to students at CC2k, Reform candidate Patrick J. Buchanan was asked by a college student what he would do to help students.

"Ask not what your country can do for you," he responded, quoting former President John F. Kennedy '40. "Ask what you can do for your country."

This message was echoed by others, too.

"If you are not satisfied, if you are not happy with what you see in the political system today, it is a free country," Republican candidate Steve Forbes said.

"Get up and do something about it," he added. "America belongs to all of us, including you."

It is a message some students aren't taking lightly.

Democracy in Practice Chair Peter M. Shipman says that CC2k demonstrated how students can seize the initiative and become leaders.

"We're here telling others to look at us," Peter M. Shipman says. "It's time to follow our lead."

Leading Whom?

Students who do decide to enter politics often face the apathy of their peers from the moment they announce their campaigns.

MIT student Erik C. Snowberg, for example, ran for the Cambridge City Council last fall on a platform of student representation in local politics.

He called for a groundswell of student votes. His campaign postered heavily on the campuses of Harvard and MIT; he held rallies; he registered 2,000 new student voters. Campus organizations and the Cambridge Civic Association endorsed him.

"I am...the only candidate who cares about the needs and wants of the student population," he says last fall. "By taking electoral power and sending a representative to City Council, students can ensure themselves a place at the bargaining table when universities make decisions that affect their lives."

A disappointed Snowberg finished last in the November election, garnering only 425 votes out of almost 20,000.

Students, it seems, didn't respond to him.