America needs better idols

Be honest, how many of you know who Sanjaya is?

Now, how many people can name a U.S. senator?

I'm betting more of you know the former American Idol contestant. In this society, that's completely normal.

I mean, after all, more people voted for last year's American Idol than for George Bush or John Kerry in our last presidential election.

The question begs, "If today's generation is more concerned about the next American Idol rather than who can lead our country, should we, as students, be worried?"

Many, including me, would say "yes."

Political science Professor James Jacob says "no."

Jacob said he has noticed a change in his students' interest and awareness of politics and political candidates over the last few years.

And Jacob is not alone.

According to a new national study, American college students are civically and politically engaged, and more likely to be so than those of the same age who are not enrolled in college. The study also concluded that more college students were more likely to know the name of their U.S. senator or representative than the winners of "American Idol" or "Dancing with the Stars."

I found this hard to believe, but although he has not read about the study, Jacob said he has come up with the same conclusion.

Over the last few years, Jacob said many students are becoming more aware and more concerned with U.S. politics for many reasons: the frustrations of the Bush administration, the Iraq war, the cost of college, sustainability and the possibility of a draft.

Comedic shows like "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report," and the advancement of technology, specifically the Internet, have also made students more aware.

"The world is at their fingertips," Jacob said. "That would have been impossible 25 years ago."

This is true. But what is also true is that since 1972, when 18- to 21-year-olds were first allowed to vote, youth voter turnout has declined from 55 percent to 42 percent among eligible 18- to 24-year-olds, according to youthvote.org.

So without "the world at their fingertips" more than 25 years ago, it seems more than half of 18- to 24-year-olds were voting more than us today.

So awareness may or may not be up, but there's no question that students are voting less these days. And so the question that seems to never go away becomes "Why?"

The answer to that question can't be answered easily. There are so many reasons. No effect felt from voting. Laziness. Not caring. And who knows what else.

Either way, Jacob is keeping the faith.

He remembers three years ago when congressman Wally Herger made a surprise appearance in one of his classes, and his students, after initially being shocked, had many intelligent, complex questions for Herger about issues they were concerned about.

"I was shocked," he said.

Jacob predicts another increase in youth voter turnout for the next election, he said.

"They're getting the point," he said.

Are they? Maybe we are becoming more aware, more concerned, but what the hell are we doing about it? That's the question.

Being aware can't be enough. Once we stop becoming excited about getting closer to reaching the 50 percent mark in the number of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 is when we will finally get the point.

Until then, stay tuned for the finale of American Idol coming up in a few weeks. It should be a good one. Last year, 63 million votes were tallied, according to USA Today. And I'm sure those numbers will increase this year. After all, this is America.

Gotta love democracy.

Mando Navarro can be reached at