Echoing national polls, UCLA students cite the economy as a central issue in this presidential election cycle.
However, students think issues such as education, same-sex marriage and abortion are also important to the young voter population.
A recent national poll by Washington Post-ABC World News found that 52 percent of Americans believe the economy has entered long-term decline.
With college tuitions rising every year, some students are worried about their abilities to secure jobs and pay off debt.
“I would have to say the economy is the most important issue because (students) are going through college and certain loan companies are increasing their (prerequisites),” said Riki Ranat, a first-year undeclared student.
“The economy is the number one situation to students,” he added.
These concerns echo national polls among young voters.
Young voters in the United States are anxious about the faltering economy, rockthevote.com, a Web site that administers polls of 18- to 29-year-olds, has found.
Of those surveyed, 41 percent said they think the next president should take action on the economy as soon as he gets into office. In a poll released in late September, 51 percent cited “creating jobs” as a 10 on a scale of importance from one to 10.
Another student expressed concerns about the job market.
“We’re worried about the economy, especially if we’re graduating. (We want) opportunities for us,” said Daisy Cheng, a third-year anthropology student.
However, there are other specific issues that young voters may focus on when choosing their presidential candidate.
“In this election, looking at the polling data, personal issues are driving young voters,” said Tim Groeling, assistant professor of communication studies at UCLA.
Issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage are influencing the voters, Groeling added.
Students matched this sentiment when asked which social issues they thought were important to young voters.
“I think abortion is a big deal,” said Carolyn Wang, a third-year English student.
“In terms of abortion, people want to be able to have birth control without their parents knowing, I think they want to continue to practice that,” Cheng said.
Some stressed the issue of same-sex marriage.
“I think right now, especially in California, the idea of gay marriage is becoming important … it’s front and center,” said Kelly Cook, a third-year political science student.
“I have a lot of friends that are gay and they want to be part of society. They want to adopt and get married. I want them to be able to do that,” Cheng said.
Younger voters tend to be more liberal and often find it difficult to relate to older candidates who seem stuck in their ways and out of touch with the younger, more liberal population, Groeling said.