,Choose the character you most relate with (or don't) to learn about how they interact with politics!
Karen is a junior in college in California. She is a first-generation American who grew up in Pennsylvania; her parents are from Mexico. [[Walk through Karen's day]].
Ken is a graduate student in college in California. He is from the Bay Area, but pursued his undergraduate studies in Illinois. His parents are upper-middle class and work in tech; he is a first-generation American and his parents are from South Asia. [[Walk through Ken's journey with politics in college.]]
It's another day of junior year of college. You wake up just before 8am and dash to your morning class. You get to class and everyone is talking about the upcoming presidential election. You tap on an informed classmate’s shoulder and ask:
[[What’s going on]] ?Ken begins his undergraduate studies in Illinois. Before college, he went to a competitive high school in the Bay Area and had little time to be politically active. Entering college, Ken thought he wouldn't really be politically active. However, in his freshman year, Ken [[talks to his dorm mates]] and begins taking [[classes]].Ken's dorm-mates talk about college life, culture, and more ... and now, and then, bring up their political beliefs. Ken wishes he could contribute more, and draws upon what he is exposed to everyday -- [[classes]].Ken is required to take Political Science 101 as part of his undergraduate studies. Despite being an aspiring STEM major, Political Science 101 makes him more curious about government. After taking the course, he has the fundamental knowledge to build opinions on political topics he [[cares about]] or continue seeking more [[political information]]. Though he has taken Political Science 101, Ken doesn't really have any other regular exposure to politics. He finds politics interesting, but is not truly equipped to care about any one advocacy area in particular; to that end, he doesn't feel like he truly is involved in the nation's political scene. He still thinks he should try to remain politically engaged, though, so he seeks out [[political information]] .Ken is an active Twitter user and also reads widely. He begins following what people on Twitter retweet about [[politicians]]. He also heavily uses Apple products and other technology, and downloads [[Apple News]] on his phone. Ken starts getting a lot of people with similar political leanings in his Twitter feed, and he develops the same opinions as them. Particularly, he admires the stances his favorite professional athletes -- Colin Kaepernick and LeBron James -- take. He starts developing liberal viewpoints, and discussing what he reads with his [[peers]].Ken finds Apple News quite useful at first. He appreciates how it aggregates political news from a variety of sources. However, after the 2016 election, he notices that most political news tends to devolve to a form of entertainment -- remarking on the admittedly abnormal actions of the President. However, he finds it hard, even with the aggregation Apple News performs, to piece together the context of more serious events -- like the progression of the Mueller investigation. He does his best to [[keep on top of it]]. Ken's peers find his political tidbits -- especially the ones about professional athletes -- fascinating. Though Ken enjoys bringing up these political tidbits, he feels he doesn't have a comprehensive view of any one issue in particular, and slowly realizes his Twitter feed is a bubble of sorts. He seeks out other news apps and downloads [[Apple News]] . Ken begins to feel more and more politically informed. He knows the context of more complex political events and also the more amusing events he can bring up at lunchtime or dinner conversations with his peers. Yet, he still views politics more as [[entertainment]] rather than something he can be [[involved in]]. Politics, Ken feels, is a great way to strike common ground with people, as long as relatively non controversial subjects are brought up.
It is harder to express any of the reading he does about more serious political subjects, or sound them off people. He doesn't know how he can be [[involved in]] changing the culture around how people discuss politics. Frustrated, Ken decides to remain a [[passive consumer]] of political information and "dinnertime entertainer." Ultimately, Ken doesn't understand how he can really be serious about any area of politics given the lack of easily available forums, i.e. his peers, to develop those views in. He's too busy with his STEM major & coursework to actively seek out other groups, and anyway, doesn't consider himself "super hardcore." So, he continues to be a fly on the wall of sorts, and observes, only engaging to vote in the presidential election and in no other form of political change. He has become politically apathetic. Though by the end of his undergraduate studies, he is much more politically informed than when he started, he doesn't know how to take his passion for politics to the next level since he can't discuss it in a non-controversial way with his peers. He also has to make a significant effort to sift through political information to develop his own viewpoints, and begins to feel increasingly [[exhausted]]. Your classmate explains: “We’re debating whether the democratic candidate has a chance. Are you going to vote this year? Yesterday was the last day to get registered to vote.” You reply…
"[[Yes]] I’m registered,” you lie, feeling uncomfortable admitting that you missed the deadline. You were so caught up with work that you forgot.
"[[No]] I forgot to,” you admit.Your classmate smiles. “Me too! I almost forgot but my parents called me on Friday and I registered just in time.” After class, you walk back to your dorm, feeling…
[[Ashamed]] or [[Mad]]You lied about registering because you felt left out. Now you feel bad about lying to your classmate and scared of returning to class next week having to keep up the lie. You [[cry in bed]].You’re mad that your parents were immigrants and never taught you about politics. You’re more mad that your classmates don’t understand and wish they knew. You [[cry in bed]].A few weeks later you’re having lunch with your friends and the election comes up again. They start debating about who they’re voting for. The conversation eventually points to you, and you say…
“I [[prefer]] not to talk about politics” or
“I forgot to [[register]] to vote...” or
“I’m not really [[following]] the election”Your classmate frowns, just slightly, but you catch it. He moves on, smiling, and asks about your weekend. After class, you walk back to your dorm, feeling…
[[Sad]] or [[Mad]]You feel like your classmates will judge you for not voting in this very important election. You feel even worse for not understanding why it’s so important and feel left out. You [[cry in bed]].Your friends fall into an awkward silence. One of them,simplifying the question, asks, “Who are you voting for?”
You awkwardly say ...
"I forgot to [[register]] to vote...”Your friends move along in the conversation and stop asking for your opinion. You feel ridiculed and leave lunch feeling isolated. From now on, you subconsciously surround yourself with other people who aren’t so politically active. You never want to face something like this again.Your friends fall into an awkward silence. One of them says, “Oh but you’re voting, right? We’re a swing state so it’ll be really close!”
You awkwardly say ...
"I forgot to [[register]] to vote...”