Don’t wanna be an American idiot.

                                American Idiot, Green Day, 2004

College: The greatest four years of your life. But how do these four years prepare you for the next four years?

Well, it seems like education makes people more civically engaged and more involved. That’s according to Casey Klofstad, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Miami who teaches about public opinion and political participation. “One thing we know that education does is that it make you more politically engaged. We find that people who are more highly educated are more interested in politics and current events, and they’re also more active.”

Most people presume that college liberalizes youth. We hear all the time that college students are left wing. A study by David L. Weakliem from the International Journal of Public Opinion Research reinforces common wisdom: “Research from the 1950s to the present has found that more highly educated people express more liberal views on a number of issues, including civil liberties, the rights of racial and ethnic minorities, and gender roles.”

However, Professor Klofstad’s opinion was more nuanced. “You’re partisanship is probably not going to be altered. You’ll probably hold onto the stamp that your parents put on you. But college exposes you to a lot of different experiences and people, and typically that makes you more tolerant. There are tolerant Democrats and tolerant Republicans.”

So what kinds of changes occur from when you’re an incoming freshman until graduation? “I don’t really have any hard data on that, but my guess is that there is a learning curve,” Klofstad said.  “Just think about it: When you’re in high school, you’re probably not old enough to vote, you might not have done a lot of political stuff. But when you come to college, you’re probably eighteen, you’re in a new environment, and you’re going to be learning about politics and current events. As you get more and more exposed to that stuff, you’re probably going to become more active throughout your school career.”

But it’s not only education that changes the political opinions of youth, Klofstad explained. “You graduate. You get a job and you start paying taxes. That means that the way the government collects and spends those taxes is now important to you! As you age, you get more intertwined with the government.” However, Professor Klofstad emphasized that you don’t have to be old for the government to be influential in your life. “The government has a greater impact in the lives of young people than they may think. A good example of that is student loans, or the future of Social Security, things that are going to directly affect young people.”

When I asked how young people can take action on the issues that affect them, Klofstad gave me a simple answer: “Vote. This coming election is a perfect storm that is going to draw young people into the voting booth in 2008.”

For more, check out my video!