It’s pretty commonplace these days to hear someone complaining about youth apathy. Either they’re making the fallacious claim that we’re all privileged and dislocated from the world around us, or they’re making false assumptions about our willingness to participate in the political process. Either way, they couldn’t be further from the truth.

Underestimating the growing power of young people is quite frankly one of the most catastrophic mistakes any person, politician, or institution can make. In my personal experience engaging with students on campus, I’ve come to understand exactly how engaged young people really are. Many of them are simply looking for ways to exercise their electoral power. The real problem isn’t apathetic young people. The real problem is that young people have been ignored, undervalued, and left behind time and time again. [Read more...]