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By
Paul Wisenthal.
Paul
Wisenthal is a freelance journalist who writes about young people;
Bill Zimmerman, editor
Young
People in Politics Senate Race Is a Political Primer for Teens By
Paul Wisenthal. Paul Wisenthal is a freelance journalist who
writes about young people MATT BAER, 17, is not yet a household
name, but his handiwork can be seen on TV news clips and press
photos of his candidate, Rick Lazio. Seven nights a week, Baer, a
senior at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, marshals his
125-county teen chairpeople by phone and through the Internet.
As
New York State teen coordinator for the Lazio campaign, Baer
provides each county chairman with enough placards, buttons and
even under- voting-age bodies to greet the Republican congressman
from Brightwaters as he swings through the state searching for
votes in his race against Hillary Rodham Clinton for U.S. senator.
"What
that means is that when Rick appears in Buffalo, there are 20-30
teenagers there holding 'Lazio for Senator' signs and cheering his
name," said Baer, an unpaid volunteer.
In
the most hotly contested senatorial race in the country, the
candidates are increasingly tapping teenagers like Baer to
volunteer and help promote their cause. During the campaign, some
200 high school students and 1,800 college students have
volunteered for Clinton throughout the state, and 150 teenagers
and 1,000 to 1,500 college students for Lazio.
For
volunteer Alissa Stollwerk, 16, of Searingtown, during the summer
this meant working six hours each day and three hours at night,
stuffing envelopes, entering data, lining up Democratic speakers
at senior citizen centers from the first lady's campaign office in
Carle Place. "I feel more students should get involved in the
election," the junior at Herricks High School in New Hyde
Park said.
"Many
of the issues that Hillary is fighting for, such as a woman's
right to choose, keeping out school vouchers and pushing for
college tax credits, affect all of us," Stollwerk said.
Most
teenagers seem rather apathetic to the election process, because
they can't vote and don't pay taxes. "Look, we grew up
without a Vietnam, no civil rights protests and lots of
prosperity," Stollwerk said in a recent phone interview.
"Because there are no pressing issues affecting young people,
they don't get involved." The political bug bit Baer at the
ripe age of 15, when he worked for New York City councilmen and
women running in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. "I would
stand outside the 86th Street subway station handing out flyers
and screaming for voters to support my candidate," he said.
Baer
says he hopes to be a communications consultant for political
candidates when he completes college. "I love campaign ads,
speechwriting, policy making and the press," he said recently
at Lazio's campaign headquarters.
Some
student volunteers loved the thrill of working on a campaign and
said they've learned a lot about politics.
Seventeen-year-old
Ken Fomberstein of North Hills spent part of the summer at Clinton
campaign offices at Carle Place. A senior at Great Neck South High
School, he answered phones, stuffed envelopes and passed out
literature at Long Island Rail Road stations and at street fairs.
"I got to understand how politics worked in Long
Island," he said.
"Local
candidates would call at the campaign office. Today, I read the
newspapers more and understand how the political process works
here. I know a lot more about what goes on in my local community
and what the issues are," he said. "At school, we
operate in an academic environment. We don't see much of what
happens in Washington and how it affects us in Long Island."
Alan Medvin, 17, of Roslyn, commutes as much as he can to the
Lazio campaign offices in New York City to give his support. The
Roslyn High School senior met the first lady last year when she
visited his school. "I disagreed with her belief that the
only way of fixing the school problems was giving more money for
teachers," he said. "Education dollars should be spent
on frequent testing of teachers and students. Mr. Lazio impressed
me with his tax policies.
Money
for school vouchers and his social policies are more in line with
mine." For Sarah Park, 17, a student at Bronx High School of
Science, working on the campaign meant breaking out of her shell.
"I was quiet and shy before I volunteered to answer phones
for Mr. Lazio," Park said. "We work as a team and I
learned to become more assertive answering the phones."
Recently, Park started the Young Republican Club at her school,
which is primarily composed of Democrats. "I guess I am in
the political process. Today I am more confident about who I
am," Park said.
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