Obama and McCain volunteers are just getting started
We came, we voted, we elected. Now what?
Following a long and historic presidential campaign, the Do Something generation is energized and inspired. We took Facebook by storm, iPhones in hand, and arrived at the polls in record numbers. Three-quarters of us voted for Barack Obama, the candidate who ran on change, which makes sense: We are the change-makers, and the passion we displayed before and on November 4 signals an end to the age of political apathy.
Indeed, the New York Times recently proclaimed that the world is witnessing our awakening -- a defining moment for millennials, Generation Y, or, as the Times called us, Generation O, for Obama. If the nineties were the decade of the supermodel, and the millennium ushered in the reality star, then we are at the dawn of the political age, where Governor Sarah Palin and First Lady-to-be Michelle Obama are the new celebrities.
This seemingly sudden interest in things outside of ourselves is no small feat. Not long ago, young people were thought of as the Do Nothing generation. Slackers. Rent the films "Singles" or "Reality Bites" -- those were the kids who came before us and helped to give us a bad name (along with our own, pre-FunnyorDie.com Paris Hilton). In 1990, Time Magazine proclaimed those guys Generation X: “the unsung generation, hardly recognized as a social force or even noticed much at all.” The 90’s were a time of relative stagnation amongst young people who didn't do much to change their inherited social ills.
Enter Generation Y, also known as the millennials. We are more likely to have volunteered within the past year than any other living generation. Political awareness among college freshmen is on the rise for the fifth consecutive year, to its highest level in over a decade. A total of 75% of young adults are registered to vote, compared to the 54% of the general electorate that is registered. It's no wonder Obama is the first U.S. President to deliver his weekly addresses to the nation on Youtube, as well as by radio.
Yet it’s not all about Obama -- although we are driven by his message of making this world better together. As one of the President-Elect's campaign organizers Nick Jensen puts it, “There are two things here: There’s Barack Obama the candidate and Barack Obama the movement. You don’t have to believe in Obama the candidate but you have to believe in Barack Obama the movement for change. It demands attention.”
Another Obama volunteer, Merrell Hambleton, believes the election of Obama indicates a paradigm shift of the typical community service participant. No longer are the stereotypical Birkenstocks and a stint in the Peace Corps the prerequisites for those seeking careers in the public service sector. Obama shows us that a dedication to service can fit into almost any lifestyle . . . not to mention possibly help you pay for college.
With all this excitement and a palpable hunger for the U.S. to be better and do better, the question remains: Now that we’ve officially grown into the title of the Do Something generation, what’s next and how? We went straight to the source and talked to the young people who chose to get involved in the election. Read on -- then feel free to comment: We want your stories and opinions!
Tobin Van Ostern, 19, Richmond, VA; Co-Founder and National Director of Students for Barack Obama
Tobin remembers hearing about the conversation that took place in Obama’s car on the way to a speech Tobin organized. When the candidate asked what the event was going to be like, a member of his staff replied, "We’re not really sure; it may have a couple hundred people. It was organized on this thing called Facebook so we’re not really sure what to expect.”
Talk about over-delivering! Tobin and his colleagues managed to cram almost 4,000 people into the rally before they had to start turning people away. After the rally, the Obama campaign kept in touch and eventually asked Students for Barack Obama to become an official part of the campaign after realizing, Tobin says, “that there was something worthwhile about young people and something worthwhile about this new Facebook tool.” Worthwhile indeed: much of the media buzz surrounding Obama’s campaign centered around its ability to utilize technology that appeals to young people.
How did Tobin get started? In 2006, he was surfing Facebook for help in deciding which Democratic candidate to support in the Presidential race. He was surprised to find a group already several thousand people strong backing Obama, who had yet to announce his interest in the presidency. After reading Obama’s books, Tobin decided to contact the administrator of the Facebook group, Meredith Segal, to say, “We have all these interested people; we should think about creating an organization to try to utilize this energy and excitement.” And so the “Students for Barack Obama Draft Committee” was born, with the purpose of convincing then-Senator Obama that “there would be young voters behind him” should he choose to run. Obama’s staffers caught wind of the group, and promised that the Senator would speak to a group of students if they could rally “a couple hundred” people. "Students for Barack Obama" assembled thousands!
Tobin Van Ostern introducing Barack Obama at the rally!Okay, Tobin: What now? “It definitely doesn’t end [with the election]," he begins. "We have trained hundreds of thousands of young people and tens of thousands of students how to organize. People know how to set up an organization, how to get to work behind an issue. Those are skills they are going to carry with them and I think we’ll see them applied to a whole host of new things going forward.”
Up next for the International Affairs major at George Washington University is the de-briefing phase of the campaign. He and other top members of Students for Barack Obama continue to work with the campaign to decide how to take advantage of the continued push to better society.
An active Obama supporter since December 2007 and volunteer organizer in the swing states, Nick says he “knew Obama would overcome John McCain" for weeks leading up to the election, and so he started thinking about the future.
“There’s a general kind of wanting to stay involved,” Nick said. "A lot of volunteers felt fulfilled when they were working on the campaign; they really felt like they were making a difference and now they’re not. The biggest question is what do they do – what do you do with this energy that you want to put forward now that the election is over?”
Nick's answer, in part, lies with leadership that recognizes the power of Generation Y -- and allows them to be a part of the new, changing government. However, Nick adds: “There’s just no clear avenue right now for what to do. I’ve been encouraging a lot of people to apply for grants at Do Something, just for seed money [for their own organization] to get people started or funding for continuance. A lot of people out there have a lot of good ideas that they want to put into action but they don’t have the resources for it.”
Still, Nick is typical of the Do Something generation: He's not waiting for someone older and more experienced to lead the way: The NYU sociology major has already decided to pursue a master’s degree in Public Administration in Public Policy and is busy starting a non-profit on voting reform, as well as encouraging friends to stay involved in politics at a more local level. “We have to take the excitement from the presidential races to our Senate and House races and local races,” he says. Who knows -- in a few years we may even have the opportunity to vote for him.
Justin Hanson, 18, Gainesville, FL, Young Republican and Administrator of “College Students for John McCain”
Though Justin supported McCain, whom he calls “a true American,” he maintains: “I will support President-Elect Obama.” He felt the Republican party fell short because they did not focus on the issues of young people, namely education and the economy, but believes this a lesson learned for the GOP and an opportunity to make courting the powerful youth vote a priority.
He may not call himself part of Generation O, but he has at least this much in common with his Obama-voting peers: He is a part of the Do Something generation and hopes young people will continue to use their influence towards societal change. Says Justin: “I think they should act for change for the rest of their lives."
Merrell Hambleton, 22, Brooklyn, NY; Obama canvasser in Philadelphia
Merrell says most of the people she met while working in Philly were not the tabloid-reading videogame-playing people that some older people categorize as Gen Y. “I work for a website and I live in Brooklyn. I just graduated from college and I would say that almost everybody fit the exact same criteria. A lot of people in their 20’s, Philly had a lot of New Yorkers specifically from Brooklyn, which I guess would indicate the stereotype people who shop for organic foods, do yoga, and are socially engaged.”
Of course, not all members of the Do Something generation are tofu-eating yogis either and Merrell believes Obama is a reason for this shift. “He is such a good model for people in the sense that he’s this incredibly successful talented accomplished individual who spent a good portion of his life doing community service work," she says. "He’s an example for how you can do that and still be ambitious.”
She adds, “I think there’s a stigma surrounding community service work that says you can’t be powerful or successful if you’re doing service, and I think he’s set a really good example for the opposite reality.” Indeed, Obama didn't take a big corporate lawyer job after graduation -- he wanted to be a public servant.
Merrell was so inspired by the shifting paradigm of the service Do-er that she's decided to stay involved in service. “It’s really made me think what can I do with my life now, especially since I’m young. Given the mortgage crisis I’ve been really interested in getting involved in affordable housing issues. I’m going to work in that sector.”
Myles Miller, 15, Bronx, NY; Journalist for Children’s PressLine
Only 15, Miles writes for Children’s PressLine and his own RFK News, which received funding from Do Something. He says he would have voted for Obama had he been eligible, and he believes that millennials have always been socially engaged -- this election only proved it to a lot of people outside of his age group.
“This is the PR blitz that young people need," he says. "They need notoriety and this will help them in the future.”
He maintains that even if McCain had won, young people are always hungry for change and know that the best thing to do with their energy is to act on it. “We’re from the youth media realm and we know this is a not a place where we stop. This is a place where we move forward.”
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN! What was your "something" during the election? And whether you were involved or not, how do you intend to help the Do Something generation further it's good name? Let us know, add a comment.
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