What I learned listening to young people
A few days ago, I sat at a “Community Members” table (that means “old people”) and had a ringside seat for a fascinating conversation among some Gettysburg College students. It was a focus group, jointly sponsored by Tracie Potts, director of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College, and the Harvard University Center on Public Opinion. The discussion was moderated by John Della Volpe of Harvard.
The students ranged from first year to senior and were drawn from everywhere from 30 miles away (York) to both coasts, and from every environment from New York city to small towns. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the students willing to give up a Saturday morning and early afternoon were primarily history, public policy, or poli sci majors. So, the group deviates from “random” in that they’re probably more attuned to public policy issues than even the random Gettysburg College student. Also, there was a “Meet Josh Shapiro” event going on at the same time that was heavily attended by the campus Young Democrats, so undoubtedly there were 2-3 liberal/progressive voices who otherwise would have been part of the conversation. But still, it was a chance for me to get a concentrated dose of “what (some) young people are thinking.”
I was impressed that, when asked to describe “my ideal life,” virtually every one of the students made some reference to “helping others” or “making the world a better place.” Della Volpe commented that he wasn't sure the same question asked 20 years ago to his generation would have elicited the same answer.
It was evident that the students were affected by growing up in a world of school shooter drills and “Me Too!” Amidst the discussion of pressures (adjusting to small town life, grades, financial pressures, etc.), one woman mentioned “safety” and quickly drew assents from other participants. Every woman present acknowledged being concerned about and taking active steps to avoid, sexual assaults. “In a place you’re trying to feel at home,” one said, “getting a notification [of another assault] is really scary.” Another student said, “We all look out for each other, walk together, text to make sure everyone got home.” Several of the men commented that it angered them that women had to live this way.
All of the students said safety was a weekly concern and more than half said it was a daily issue for them. In a later discussion, more than half also said that gun violence was also a daily concern.
The most extensive back and forth discussion happened when the topic switched to government and politics. While most students had similar views on crime and abortion rights, K-12 education, and other issues, views sharply differed on our nation’s current divide. Everyone agreed we’re divided but disagreed about where the divide came from, what keeps it going, and the likelihood of fixing it. Despite their strong views on politics, few expressed any sense of affiliation with either party; many students considered both parties part of the problem. (Reminder: many of the Young Dems, who might have had kinder words for that party, were at a Shapiro event. Still, the lack of support should be sobering news for both parties. Perhaps having people the age of their grandparents as party leaders and presidential candidates doesn’t increase students’ identification with the party?)
What was especially impressive was that even in the midst of discussing issues that are deeply partisan, the conversation remained just that: a conversation. It never deteriorated to a contest to deploy talking points.
Few of the students expressed much faith in government, with one who approvingly quoted President Reagan’s line that the scariest words are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” and others who denounced inflation as an example of government mismanagement. But some spoke from a liberal perspective, with one student criticizing the activist decisions of the Supreme Court and another taking issue with the repeated claims of a stolen election.
The students somewhat contradicted the conventional view of colleges as places where conservative voices get shouted down. All but one of the self-identified conservatives said they were comfortable discussing politics on campus while three of the liberal or progressive students stated some degree of discomfort about political discussions.
Their one-word summary of the current situation had more words like “difficult-scary-divided-disastrous-volatile-turbulent-risky” than “exciting-hopeful-historic,” but in closing remarks, the students overwhelmingly expressed optimism about the future and faith in the USA.
A week or so ago, I attended a talk on the current crisis by Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin. Her concluding remark was that the angry white male that so dominates our current discourse will die off and will not be replaced. “The children of evangelicals believe in gay rights and Roe,” she said. Her concluding remarks were, “It may take 20 years, but the younger generations are going to save democracy.” Based on this discussion, I think she may be right.
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This series is written to promote political discussion and organizing. Permission is given to use this in fact sheets, talking points, letters to the editor, etc. We’d appreciate if you notified Gettysburg DFA (leonsreed@gmail.com) of any uses. Written by Leon Reed.