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Friday, March 29, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

Speaker discusses negative perception of political activism of young people

What’s the matter with kids today?

Russell Dalton, an expert on citizenship and the political process, was referring to the older generation’s negative outlook on young people — especially in the realm of political activism. 

But according to Dalton, the good news is that the bad news is wrong.

Dalton, the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of California-Irvine, spoke to a group of about 30 people at Pugh Hall on Monday at the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

During his presentation, Dalton frequently touched on his 2007 book, “The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics.”

The book explains that although young voter turnout has decreased over the years, other areas of youth involvement have increased.

“My reality is seeing the younger generation as not as pessimistic,” Dalton said. “I’m wondering why old people dislike young people so much.”

He said the common misconception is that youth is the cause of the decline in political participation. 

“When voting goes down, we don’t see what’s coming up on the other side,” he said.

Positives include the increases of youth in volunteerism, community action, Internet activism and boycotting.

Kelly Hodoval, a graduate of the UF environmental engineering program,was one of those in attendance at the free, public presentation.

“It was really insightful,” she said. “You do primarily hear the negative approach.”

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Hodoval said she hopes Dalton’s studies become the more widely known information about the younger generation’s involvement in politics.

Ann Henderson, the center’s director, said that in light of recent negative statistics, hearing Dalton’s words was encouraging.

“Our state ranks 46 out of 50 in civic health,” Henderson said. “But what we heard here is some good news.”

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