YOUNG, intelligent and attractive. Not three words likely to describe most of the characters at the Republican and Democratic national conventions held this summer. In fact, they are more likely thrown around a place like the University.
Maybe you were too busy keeping up with Richard and Colleen and the rest of the "Survivor" gang, and you missed a few politicos that you would actually be interested in hearing about. Move over Al and George W., we're supposed to listen to Karenna and George P. now.
Both Karenna Gore Schiff, Gore's daughter, and George P. Bush, George W. Bush's nephew, spoke at the political conventions in the hope that a whole generation of citizens could be inspired to participate in the political process.
We should listen and we should care because we can vote. At least this is what these two new faces are trying to convince our generation to believe. Students can predict what the advisors and pundits are thinking: If they look like us and talk like us, we'll pay attention.
This may seem like a novel solution to an old problem, but we shouldn't be so cynical. Though Karenna is married and preparing for the bar exam, and George P. is busy at law school when he's not on the campaign trail, they represent the type of voter that most students are: young, intelligent and attractive.
Maybe they don't have to worry about tuition the way that we do, but they're in the same boat when it comes to many other issues that we all face.
College, the job market, social security, and taxes are just a few things that, within the next four years, will become very real concerns to all of us, if they haven't already. Karenna and George P.'s message that we have the largest stake of any demographic in this election rings true. It's time to make Generation Y accountable for itself.
Of course, they have different ideas about who is going to do a better job shaping our future, as will each of us. But students across the country should at least consider the point they are making. Every vote is critical to the process, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
Students aren't plugged into the whole "election thing" because it's too boring or the candidates just seem out of touch. Perhaps our generation would be interested if we just used some game show format to elect the president.
The truth is that a presidential election is a very important thing, especially for people our age. So from now until November, reading up on the issues and listening to the debates will provide valuable information to voters our age. Granted, a lot of it will be in sound bites that are orchestrated to win your heart over. But savvy Gen Y-ers will have no problem seeing through them.
For most college-age students, this is the first time to vote in a presidential election. Students across the country can contact local elections boards to find out about registering and obtaining absentee ballots. Even though we're away from home, we must make the most of this important privilege. By the time Nov. 7 rolls around, every student will be prepared to vote.
Sure, it might seem kind of hokey that both presidential candidates are getting the younger members of their family to get out the vote. But I believe that it speaks volumes about how much our voice does count. Karenna and George P. are influential people now, and they probably won't fade into the background after November. In fact, it would probably not be a surprise to see either in campaigns of their own in the coming years and decades.
So now is the time to listen. Perhaps not to the stuffy crowd gathered under the bright lights and the balloons, but instead to young spokespeople for our generation. Take notice of them all, and not just Karenna and George.
The University is alive with young, intelligent, and attractive people whose fathers aren't running for president.
(Katherine Martini's column appears Mondays in the Cavalier Daily.)
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