Students filled the auditorium ready to hear Republican strategist Kevin Madden and Democratic strategist Karen Finney discuss the topic of media politics and youth. Yet, moments after the forum began, the panelists jumped from topic to topic, discussing Congress and President Obama’s performance so far.
Jane Hall, a journalism professor in the School of Communication, moderated the forum as David Johnson, another professor, controlled the Twitter feed, enabling viewers not present to actively participate in the forum.
The Twitter feed was projected on a large screen in front of the audience. Throughout the forum, those in the crowd tweeted back and forth, as they often focused more on the feed than on the forum itself.
Despite their different viewpoints, Madden and Finney initially stressed the monumental impact young voters have in determining the election results. President Obama has been calling upon the youth to fulfill its responsibility of voting. Only half of 18 to 29 year old voters are registered to vote. Of those that are registered, only 55% say they will vote.
Initially trying not to express their political ideologies, Madden and Finney soon began to defend their respective parties.
A student asked if Obama’s current approval rating will have a negative impact on youth in the upcoming elections. Madden answered saying that there was only a 1% difference in youth voters from the 2004 elections to the 2008 elections, however, twice as many Democrats voted than Republicans. Finney responded saying that despite Obama’s seemingly low approval rating, it follows the trend of past presidents’ ratings.
From initially emphasizing the youth’s impacts on the elections, Madden and Finney eventually began to respectfully cut each other off, trying to articulate the nation’s progression since the last election, using their parties’ stances as the backbone of their discussions.
Shamar Walters, a student in the audience, said that soon after the forum began it seemed that the panelists did not even try to hide their political beliefs.
“They stayed neutral for only a couple of questions,” Walters said.
Finney called for the audience to have more patience in waiting for Obama’s results while Madden articulated that Obama has failed to meet his standards.
“Change takes time,” Finney said. “We’re not used to that anymore.”
“The President is suffering from expectations he set on his own,” Madden responded.
As the forum continued, even David Johnson, “the tech guru,” stepped in to interject his thoughts. Towards the end of the forum, it seemed as though even the panelists were frustrated as they desperately tried to get their last points out.
Mike Brown, a student among the audience, as well as several others, thought it was difficult for Kevin Madden to fairly get involved, considering the overwhelming liberal population present.
“Just like Karen Finney and Jane Hall said it was an act of bravery to go on Bill O’Reilly’s show, I see it’s the same for Kevin Madden to debate in front of a predominately liberal school,” Brown said.
The focus of the forum certainly was unexpected, yet the panelists proved that the youth vote is in fact up for grabs, as they strived to sway the audience members, with midterm elections less than a month away.
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