University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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never when licul- indent Young ly stii- Judent ignew .Indent o. But . . . it ' s difficult to imagine that the Watergate and Agnew scandals won ' t have an effect on student participation in the April 1974 electwn. But last January, the exact nature of this effect was uncertain. last January the exact nature of this effect was uncertain. The horrors of Watergate may have turned even more students away from the voting process. Students will be more apathetic than ever, says Kuhn. On the other hand, some observers think that the scandals in Washington will result in an increased student turnout. Guy Cavallo, chairman of the Young Democrats in Ann Arbor, reports, Students have realized that the government got out of control because everybody was uninvolved. They ' ll realize that the only way to clear things up is to get people back into the electoral process. I expect that the percentage of students voting in citv elections will rise. This April ' s elections, then, will probably be a good indicator of the future extent of student political involvement in Ann Arbor. As for now, apathy reigns. f W J a t e r 9 a t e 81

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t h e y e a r In America, political involvement takes many different forms. A few dynamic indi- viduals totally immerse themselves by cru- sading for certain issues, campaigning for their candidates, or marching in the streets. Others are content to donate money and some just keep up with the issues so they can vote intelligently. Finally, many dont even bother to vote. At U of M, all these levels of political involvement are easily found. Incidents with the Nixon Administration and the Mideast War triggered diag rallies and marches to Congressman Esch ' s office. Students work at the Ecological Center and for the various political parties. But the students involved in these activities are a small fraction of the student population. On the whole, student involvement in politics is very poor. In the April 1973 city elections, according to various estimates only 5-25% of the students even bothered to vote. HRP coordinator for January 1974, Betsy Engel commented, Student involvement in politics? There is none! What are the reasons for such a low turnout? Will the apparent student apathy persist through the 1974 city elections? A few possible answers come to mind. The defeat of George McGovern in the fall of ' 72 may have turned many students away from electoral politics. All the student effort and involvement didn ' t even make the race close, and a feeling of political impotency resulted. Perhaps, many students do not vote because they haven ' t registered in Ann Arbor. Most U of M students turn eighteen before they come to Ann Arbor. A good number may register at home and never bother to change their registration when they come to campus. Registration difficul- ties especially affect the Republican student turnout. Ward Kuhn, chairman of Young Republicans in Ann Arbor, notes, Many stu- dent Republicans don ' t think that registering in their college town is right. Whatever the causes of the low student turnout in the ' 73 city election, it ' s difficult to imagine that the Watergate and Agnew scandals won ' t have an effect on student Darticipation in the April 1974 election. But 80.

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