Academic Achievers revel
in politics
The top students at
Portland-area high
schools are plugged into
national issues
By Betsy Hammond
Reynolds High
valedictorian Branden
Pursinger just finished
writing his eighth
article about
presidential primaries
for the school
newspaper, part of his
long crusade to get
fellow students juiced
up to vote.
Zoe Ballering, a
straight-A student at
Portland's Cleveland
High, went door to door
urging adults to support
Sen. Barack Obama,
D-Ill., in the Oregon
primary.
Craig Wiley, who made
the top grades in his
class at Vancouver's
Hudson Bay High,
persuaded his mother to
take part in the
presidential nominating
caucus, something she'd
never done before.
And two days before he
graduates, Skyview High
valedictorian Brian Tang
will fly to Spokane to
take part in the state
Democratic party
convention.
These seniors all earned
straight A's under a
staggering academic load
that included
college-level courses.
They also made time for
serious political
engagement and activity.
They are standouts in a
graduating class that is
eligible to vote for the
first time this year —
and are stepping up to
do so in record numbers.
Each year, The Oregonian
surveys the top Academic
Achievers at all public
and private high schools
in a five-county metro
area. This year's survey
of nearly 500
valedictorians and
top-achieving students
at 100 schools found
they love to follow
politics, can't wait to
vote and are ready to
use their collective
political clout to
better the world.
"People my age . . . can
bring in a fresh point
of view and really help
decide our country's
future," says Marissa
Connolly, a
valedictorian at
Hillsboro's Liberty
High.
Unlike the
inward-looking Gen X
grads of a decade ago
who have shown
record-low voter
participation, this
year's scholars are part
of a civic-minded,
all-hands-on-deck
generation hungry to
take part in politics
and government.
At high schools from
West Linn to Vancouver,
the overwhelming
majority of
valedictorians report
they follow the
presidential campaign
closely, plan to cast
ballots and will try to
sway others. These newly
minted voters say
they're counting on the
next administration to
move past partisanship
and make real headway on
the economy, the
environment,
immigration, Iraq and
other issues of concern
to them.
The historic nature of
this election, with no
incumbent and a
Democratic race that
went undecided until
this week, helped pump
up their interest.
Across Oregon, the young
have stampeded to
register. In the seven
months leading up to the
May primary, the ranks
of registered 18- to
24-year-olds swelled
from about 113,000 to
183,000, says John
Springer, analyst for
the state Democratic
Party.
What's driving the
youthful political surge
isn't just Obama-mania,
although Obama is the
favorite candidate of
this group. Some teens
support Sen. John
McCain, R-Ariz., or Sen.
Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.;
more aren't sure or
don't want to say. Where
they agree is that
voting matters, politics
deserves their attention
and they want their
voices heard in the
halls of power.
"That's the beauty of
the American political
system. We have the
right to speak out and
be involved as much as
we like," says Ben
Morrow, a valedictorian
at West Linn High, who
loves talking politics
with his
Republican-leaning
friends.
"I think it's important
to educate yourself and
endorse a candidate" —
something he did with
vim, contributing more
than $100 he earned
working at a running
store to the Obama
campaign.
During their formative
years, the high school
class of 2008 lived
through the Sept. 11
attacks, watched the
nation wage an unpopular
war and saw the
government botch its
response to the
hurricane-hit Gulf
Coast.
That might seem an
unlikely way to forge a
generation ready to
count on government to
take on big problems.
But these new voters'
faith in the political
system, and in their
ability to shape it, is
deep enough that they
likely will reshape the
nation, say Morley
Winograd and Michael
Hais, authors of a new
book, "Millennial
Makeover: MySpace,
YouTube & the Future of
American Politics."
They correctly predicted
that the 2008 primaries
would see record turnout
among the very young —
the so-called Millennial
Generation, ages 8 to 26
and centered in the high
school class of 2008.
"A very clear pattern
emerged. In every single
state where you can do a
comparison" of young
voter turnout in the
2008 primaries compared
with 2000 and 2004,
"it's up, and often the
increase is very large —
threefold in many
cases," says Peter
Levine, director of the
nonpartisan Center for
Information and Research
on Civic Learning and
Engagement.
These young people are
disproving the myth that
young people don't
follow politics and
don't vote, Hais says.
We can thank their
parents, he adds.
"This Millennial
Generation is a very
optimistic generation,
raised by their parents
to believe you are good,
you are special, you can
make things happen,"
Hais says.
Adds Winograd: "What's
distinct about this
generation is that they
see that same lack of
performance others see,
that Washington is
broken, and instead of
wanting to tear it down
they say, 'OK, we ought
to get in there and fix
it, because we can fix
everything.' "
Tang, from Skyview High,
first got involved in
public affairs at 16,
when he decided to weigh
in on plans for a new
Interstate 5 bridge
connecting Portland and
Vancouver. "The Columbia
River crossing really
captured my imagination,
and I started dreaming
up different ideas. . .
. I found it really easy
to get involved and be
heard."
Now he's headed to Yale
to study architecture
and urban studies, with
big plans to help reduce
global warming through
city design.
Pursinger, the Reynolds
High journalist, is
electrified about the
fall election, even
though his favorite
candidate, Mike
Huckabee, dropped out
long ago. His parents
aren't active in
politics, but for years
he watched them page
through their thick gray
voter pamphlets and fill
out their ballots. His
first chance came in
May. "I'm not going to
lie: I enjoyed it," he
says.
Two-thirds of Oregon
primary voters aged 18
to 24 chose to vote
Democrat, so Pursinger,
a Republican, found
himself talking mostly
to Obama fans at
Reynolds.
"Which was good," he
says. "Every time
somebody starts talking
about politics, I get
really excited, because
I get to have more
information."
He's headed to Lewis &
Clark College this fall
where he plans to major
— no surprise — in
political science. After
college, he may go into
politics or government
for a career.
"As of right now, I'd
say I hope so," he says.
"I enjoy it so much."
