Recalling what the kids think
S.J. CAHN
With less than two weeks to go before Californians decide the future
of Gov. Gray Davis (at least it doesn’t seem like anything else is
going to pop up to stop it), I decided to do an unscientific
survey/focus group of a piece of the electorate that was supposed to
be fired up by the campaign, especially with Arnold Schwarzenegger
running.
That group: 30-odd Orange Coast College students in an
introduction to newswriting class (which happens to be mine).
The bottom line: About two-thirds said they planned to vote, the
same students who said they had voted in the past.
Not that they liked whom they had to choose from.
“I don’t like any of the candidates,” said 20-year-old Chris
Cooper, who described himself as a Democrat who thinks state Sen. Tom
McClintock is the candidate with the most experience (and who is
clearly the most conservative of the major candidates).
Anyway, Cooper went on, what can voters expect anyone to
accomplish in the three remaining years of Davis’ term? Most likely,
spurred on by the sheer fear of the recall, Davis would probably be
more aggressive than any of the candidates seeking to replace him.
His opinion wasn’t shared unanimously.
“I just want Davis out,” said Morgann Franson, 22, who has seen
her waitressing tips dry up as the economy has withered. “The sooner
we start reversing the damage he’s done, the better.”
For her and Cori Chipman, 21, that “damage” is largely to their
education. Because of budget cuts, Chipman may not get an
intersession course she needs to move on from OCC.
They and others in the class suggested -- encouragingly, I’d say
-- that their interest in the race wasn’t for the reasons pundits
have said. It isn’t because they are wowed by Arnold’s celebrity
candidacy. It’s actually because the budget cuts have hit them where
they hurt: their education (via budget cuts) and their cars (via the
renewal fee increase).
And that is an argument that supports the idea that young people
are not interested in politics and government because neither seems
to affect them (as opposed to older adults who have children in
schools, mortgages to pay and larger incomes to be taxed). But
they’ll get interested when it is clear that governmental decisions
do.
Arnold’s candidacy is not resonating with them for a simple
reason.
“Arnold, he sounds like he’s got some good ideas, but it’s all
about putting it into action,” said Julia Goldman, 21, who saw Arnold
at his Cal State Long Beach stop. “What’s he done?”
Arnold never gives any specifics, Destiny Snyder, 22, said.
The hiatus caused by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision
has turned some off.
“Now I have a week and a half to figure it out,” Christina
Schumacher, 23, said. So why bother, she asked?
The students who are especially engaged said they do talk about
the recall with friends -- just those who know what’s going on,
though. Where they have most of their discussions is at work,
potentially with older co-workers.
Finally, the students said that friends and family who live
outside of California are laughing at us here. One who watched the
Emmys on Sunday felt the sting of the humor directed at us.
We’ll see if that ends when the election is over.
* S.J. CAHN is the managing editor. He can be reached at (949)
574-4233 or by e-mail at s.j.cahn@latimes.com.
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