In the 2008 election, the youth vote turned out. Their votes helped turn states that Barack Obama would have lost or barely won into comfortable margins. But that wasn't the case this year.
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Results are based on a random sample of 223 NYU undergraduate students surveyed on Nov. 1 and 2.
For results based on the total sample of NYU undergraduates, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum margin of error is plus or minus 5.9 percentage points in any one poll. In-person interviews were conducted with respondents over two days to reduce the impact of the loss of the student population with block scheduled classes.
Multiple locations were chosen to help represent the entire undergraduate population at NYU, including commuter students, part-time students and upperclassmen living off campus.
In addition to sampling error, wording of questions and difficulty understanding directions can introduce bias and error into the findings of this poll.
Principle design of the Washington Square News’ 2010 midterm election polling was completed by Jaywon Choe, Sarah Nguyen, Eric Platt, Michael Strickland and Clarissa Wei.
Omari Allen, Bridgette Doran, Sarah Feng, Daniel Hinton, Jordin Rocchi, Alex Silady, Jacquelyn Wang and Yingying Yu contributed to polling efforts.
CBS News reported that the vote, critical to Obama and the Democrat's victory, made up only nine percent of voters this time, down from 19 percent in 2008. Of that, 58 percent of youth voters favored the Democrats. In 2008, voters under the age of 30 preferred Obama to John McCain 68 to 30.
A survey conducted by WSN on Nov. 1 and 2 revealed that 59.7 percent of NYU students held favorable views of Democrats. That same study found 69.1 percent of the liberal school also held favorable views of Barack Obama.
But NYU students weren't as satisfied with Congress' performance over the past two years.
Only, 24.2 percent of students held favorable views of Congress, while 48 percent said they disapproved — discouraging students from going to the polls.
What changed?
Across the country, college students found the presidential election more engaging, with more at stake.
"In presidential elections, you feel more important, even though our votes don't matter as much," Daniel Cimdrai, a Steinhardt graduate student said.
Lauren Wild, a junior at Dallas Baptist University, agreed.
"People go out to vote for the Presidential election because it's the big and glamorous election."
Mallory Pié, a sophomore at Xavier University, felt her one vote didn't make a difference.
"I just don't feel like I have too much pull with my one vote," she said.
Political organizations were also more active during the 2008 election than this year.
Ayeeshik Kole, a junior at Vanderbilt, remembered how much more politically active her school was during the Presidential election.
"People were excited about the election and I remember our freshman dining hall had a viewing party. A lot of freshmen came out," he said. "It's not the same this year."
Leah Hershey, a senior at American University thought many political groups assumed that everyone on the campus was so politically active that they didn't need to do as much.
The 2008 election also energized young voters unlike any in recent memory. Obama served as a rallying force for many students. His message of hope and change resonated with many voters, something lacking in this midterm election.
"Obama's message … really made our generation passionate about the election. I don't think the midterm election attract the entire nation like presidential elections do," said Caley Burton, a junior at the University of Texas. "There's not a central figure across the nation that people can look to in midterm elections. It's just their state's and district's candidates, who can seem like faceless representatives for some."
Hao Yuan, a student at the University of Southern California said that midterm elections were "just not very interesting."
"I think that it's a lot less sexy to vote for two grey haired senators … than the first black president," said Tim Leavitt, a junior at Fairfield University.
But Brendon Campbell, Chair of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan, thought the state of the current economy would encourage students to get more involved in the political process.
"We're in a unique situation. We worry about finding jobs, so students are particularly concerned about how politicians are going to achieve policy changes," he said.
The club collectively made about 48,000 phone calls, knocked on nearly 15,000 doors and registered about 1,500 voters on campus, Campbell said.
"You'll hear more about friends who can't find jobs and then you think about when you'll be graduating and if you can find a job or not," Wood said. "[Students] are looking at the [economy ] and they know it's going to be tough when they graduate."
Loweye Diedro, a sophomore at Columbia University, hoped more students would begin to realize the importance of their vote.
"I don't want to sound cliché but the youth is the future."
Campbell echoed her thoughts.
"It's important to recognize that we play an important role in deciding the future of our country."
But Wood knew that there were still many hurdles in the way.
"You're 18, you're in college, you're free from your parents. That's what's on your mind."
