By Monique Simpson
Daily Bruin Reporter
For many UCLA students, Nov. 7 will be an historic day as they
cast their first presidential vote. But for Daniel Wong, a
first-year undeclared student at UCLA, it will just be another day
of going to class and studying.
Wong is one of the thousands of young voters across the country
who are choosing not to vote.
“Voting is not my concern,” Wong said. “I knew
Al Gore was in Westwood, but I just didn’t go.”
Some political experts say 18 to 24-year-old voters will have a
record low turnout this election, according to information from the
MTV Chose or Lose Web site.
“A lot of people are fed up with all the political
garbage,” said Heather Atkinson, a third-year history
student.
But despite these popular feelings, many students on campus
still plan to vote.
“We all have a responsibility to stand up for what we
believe in,” Atkinson said.
Although she admits that young voters often do not see the real
outcome of the elections, Atkinson believes voting is
important.
“There aren’t many countries where people can choose
who will lead them,” she said.
To help students make an educated decision, some organizations
on campus, such as the African Student Union, held special
programs.
“A lot of people don’t want to take the time to vote
because voting involves the process of educating yourself on the
issues,” said Robbie Clark, program coordinator of ASU.
On Wednesday night, ASU and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sponsored
a forum, called “Do You Know Who and What You’re Voting
For” to provide students with information about the
candidates and propositions.
“We want to show it’s important to vote and take
advantage of the power we have,” Clark said.
In addition to campus activities, many students turned to Choose
or Lose for information. Rehn Dudukgian, a second-year undeclared
student, recalled seeing a MTV bus registering voters on Melrose
Street.
“People just saw “˜MTV’ and that encouraged
them to register,” she said.
MTV, along with Youth Vote 2000, helped to register more than a
million young voters.
Dudukgian said she supports MTV and other organizations that
work with young voters.
“As long as it encourages people (to vote), that’s
good,” she said.
But other students are skeptical of these groups.
“I stick with political analysts,” Atkinson said.
“I don’t trust the reporting of pop culture
things.”
But even students who would be willing to watch MTV’s
election coverage, find they don’t have the time to inform
themselves on the issues.
“I work a lot and have midterms and papers, and I
can’t put much time into following the president race,”
added Atkinson
But in the days counting down to the Election Day, she said it
is important to invest time into researching the candidates.
“I’m going to do more reading (on the
candidates),” she said. “I don’t want to make a
decision without being sure on what they stand for.”