COLUMN: How to avoid future shock

From Lisa Levenson's, "First Person," Fall '96 From Lisa Levenson's, "First Person," Fall '96 Homecoming 1996 has come and gone, capping off the strangest and saddest two weeks I can remember in three-plus years at Penn. Between Kathy Change's shocking self-immolation and Vladimir Sled's unfortunate stabbing death, one of my friends who graduated in May probably had the right idea when he jokingly suggested producing bullet-proof, flame-retardant Penn sweatshirts. The football team's first Ivy League win barely boosted my flagging spirits, since it was accompanied by the undeniable arrival of winter. You've also likely had it up to here with coverage of the political races that culminate today. You've heard many times, especially on this page, about the incredible apathy of Generation Xers. We probably should be called The Lost Kids instead, in homage to that movie with the two Coreys we all saw at age 10. So what issues -- other than crime, which the politicians don't seem capable of doing much about anyway, and fast-approaching midterms, papers and projects -- are salient to students these days? The pundits, smirking and rolling their eyes, say none. But the real answer, according to the Democracy Project, a Heinz Family Foundation study of 18-to-24-year-olds' political attitudes, is plenty. Pollsters found this summer that as a generation, we do care -- about jobs and the economy, the environment, the costs of college and the poor condition of America's public schools. These conclusions appeared in an article in my hometown newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, last week. "Contrary to stereotypes, young Americans work hard, understand debt and are driven by concern for the next generation," one headline blared. Great, I thought, happy to see at least one positive portrayal of my generation in print. But my smile faded as I read the main headline, "Poll: Young worried but tune out politics." I just can't grasp this phenomenon of fleeting political concern that registers on the radar screen of pop culture but isn't strong enough to propel students to polling places on Election Day. How do we think the pressing problems of our age will be solved, if not through legislation, judicial opinions and executive orders? Sure, this presidential campaign was a no-contest. But that doesn't excuse about one-third of the 800 students the Democracy Project polled this summer who weren't registered to vote. It doesn't excuse those of you who didn't request and use absentee ballots, those of you who won't make time to stop at the polls today, the 80 percent of eligible under-25-year-olds who didn't cast ballots in 1994 or the 57 percent of the same demographic who didn't check choices for president in 1992, when the contest (between Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot, in case you've forgotten) was so close. Have we completely stopped caring? Why are we so convinced our voices have no value? Some blame the media, with its tendency to report the negatives and the poll standings, not the issues of a race. Some blame the available candidates, with their lack of ethical standards and reliance on special-interest-group money. Some blame the irresponsibility of government as usual. Some blame our parents, disillusioned by the failure of 1960s social programs and the Vietnam War. It's probably all of the above -- and then some. But it doesn't have to stay this way. Start today; shrug off the labels and the stereotypes and the excesses of the unfeeling, money-driven '80s that defined our coming of age. Begin by voting, and then pledge not to miss an election in the next two, three or five years -- and to come to the polls fully informed each time. If you didn't register, send in your registration card now so you don't forget. Then find an issue about which you are passionate -- whether campus, local or national -- and work to increase awareness of it through a letter-writing campaign, a march or a postering blitz. Talk to your friends about your new-found "activism," and get them involved, too. As a group, 18-to-24-year-olds have the potential to swing elections, sway the slant of legislation and even change the course of history -- if any of us took our personal caring to the level of making political choices. The next time we'll have the opportunity to cast a vote for president, we'll be a in a new century. If you're still waiting and wondering whether to get involved then, you'll probably have a stiff neck, as I hear the symptoms of future shock include a nasty case of whiplash.