Trendy politics

The study also found that, compared to the general population, college students are more likely to give President Bush a higher approval rating (61 percent) and be more supportive of him in 2004. Yet students are also more critical of Bush's Iraq policy, and most think he lied to them about the situation.\n And more interesting than the poll has been the reaction to the poll, which has varied in the media but usually comes back to this phrase: "The college student vote is up for grabs in 2004."\nOf course, this is undeniably true since, on the whole, college students don't turn out en masse to vote anyway, making our vote technically always up for grabs.\nIf the poll is indeed reflective of growing conservatism among college students, there are many explanations for it, all of which have merit. We believe one of the more plausible explanations is the trendiness of political cliques and the voguish nature of college politics.\nIn the profile "The Young Hipublicans" for The New York Times last May, John Colapinto wrote, "[In the 1980s] Reagan's popularity triggered a youthquake of conservative campus activism. Today's surge reflects a renewed shift pronouncedly to the right on many defining issues, after several years during the Clinton presidency when students gravitated toward more liberal political labels."\nSo during a Republican presidency, students went right, and during a Democratic presidency, students went left. Now, back to a Republican president, students are going right again.\nGenerally, young people have a way of attaching themselves to trends and riding them out until they aren't trendy anymore. This adds credibility to the arguments that prominent parties in power attract interest in young people.\nStudent political groups on campus are also a factor. IU has its own chapters of College Democrats and College Republicans, as well as scores of others, less partisan in name, but still active in the same organizations. These groups not only focus on issues, but are also social outlets and allow students to hang out with other students who may have similar interests.\nThe volatility of college politics is nothing new. College is, after all, a search for an identity, and how you stand politically is one facet to that identity. Whatever your politics are is beyond our concern. Students should be politically active and vote, and regardless of their affiliation, we should encourage that.