Modesto student’s survey: Millennials feel political views not taken seriously

From the Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and ’70s to the racial discrimination protests led by University of Missouri students in 2016, American youth long has taken an active role in politics.

With presidential elections right around the corner, many young Americans have been freely expressing their political views and voicing who they believe is the best candidate.

With Donald Trump as the Republican nominee, and Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, this year’s election promises to be interesting and everyone should know young people are watching and have strong opinions.

In efforts to better understand millennial involvement in politics, I created a survey. Fifty randomly selected students – 10 freshmen, 12 sophomores, 14 juniors and 14 seniors – from my school completed it.

Among the questions students were asked:

▪ Are you excited to watch the election unfold?

▪ Have your parents’ influences your beliefs, and how?

▪ Are your beliefs conservative, liberal or moderate?

▪ Have the candidates addressed your concerns?

▪ What topics do you wish were better addressed?

▪ Are you comfortable sharing your views?

▪ Do you believe your views are taken seriously?

Although history repeatedly has shown millennials take an active role in politics, the survey results show that most feel their thoughts and opinions will not be taken seriously. Only 32 percent of the respondents said they feel their political views are taken seriously, while 68 percent asserted they feel people dismiss their views.

A majority of the students surveyed don’t feel their opinions regarding politics are validated, but why is this? As a millennial, I can say that my elders have a tendency to assume, because of my age, that my opinions regarding politics are not fully formed or well thought out.

Sometimes, my elders assume I just simply “go with the flow” and hold a particular belief because it’s what my parents believe, or they feel I am conforming due to peer pressure. But I think very deeply about politics, and my opinions are based on my own experiences, not what anyone tells or pressures me to believe.

The political opinions of millennials differ quite a bit from preceding generations. millennials are much more likely to support liberal ideas and values. For example, millennials voice more support of LGBTQ issues and political correctness. This indicates that many millennials have branched off from their parent’s political views.

Additionally, the participants were asked if they felt either presidential candidate had addressed their political concerns. One-third said they felt their concerns were being addressed, while two-thirds felt their concerns were being ignored. When asked what topics they’d like to see addressed more, the responses were varied. The topics included health care, voter fraud, increasing prices of college tuition and police brutality.

Eighteen percent of the surveyed students said they favor Donald Trump, 22 percent prefer Hillary, and 60 percent said neither. Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton positively influenced the younger Americans.

What could the presidential nominees do to gain more ground with millennials? They could benefit from taking a page out of Bernie Sanders’ book. Sanders gained more votes from people under 30 than Trump and Clinton combined. He overwhelmingly represents liberal views of millennials. He supports many issues critical to them, including income equality, living wages, jobs, college tuition, affordable housing, racial justice and a fair immigration policy. Addressing these problems offer young people promise and hope.

Undoubtedly, the millennial generation differs quite a bit from previous generations; however, since many millennials have not come of age yet, it’s hard to say exactly what impact they will have on politics long term. Nevertheless, if history is an indicator, young people will continue to pay attention and be actively involved.

To see the survey, go to docs.google.com/a/modbee.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVNr6FFBtr5ZeFP9MhKH1o1KiwNKpWjfxXQPw_hZP1REpEeA/viewform?c=0&w=1.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Modesto student’s survey: Millennials feel political views not taken seriously."