By Jordan Denari, 17, Y-Press
Pryce Hadley, 18
Marquette, Michigan
Despite living in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula, Pryce Hadley has been able to maintain a high level of political activism.
At Marquette Senior High School, from which he just graduated, he participated in “We the People,” a nationwide competition in which students answer questions about U.S. government posed by government experts. His class traveled to Lansing for the state finals (where they won 5th place), and they not only got to visit the state capitol for the first time, but also were able to meet Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
Pryce has been politically active in presidential races as well. During the 2004 presidential election, he volunteered to paint murals on the windows and interior at Marquette’s Democratic Party headquarters. As the 2008 race geared up, he began advocating for John Edwards, whom he supported because of his commitment to fighting corporate power and lobbyists. He now plans to vote for Barack Obama and express his political beliefs through protest art with a punk twist.
Besides the fact that John Edwards, the candidate you were supporting, wasn’t on the ballot, why didn’t you participate in Michigan’s primary?
It was useless to vote because the primary votes weren’t going to count. Now Hillary is really advocating to have Michigan’s votes count because she was the only Democratic candidate on the ballot, so she obviously won … but I really don’t think that is fair because the results would have been potentially different if Obama was also on the ballot.
Though you’ve supported Democratic candidates in this election, you still identify yourself as an Independent. Why?
I wouldn’t vote Democratic just to vote Democratic. Being from Michigan obviously we have different ideas about gun control than the average Democrat would. So I have some slightly conservative ideals about things like that, but the majority of my beliefs would be more liberal. I can’t totally side with all Democratic platforms and really can’t side with all Republican platforms, so I really like to have that choice.
Describe your political protest art and what you’re trying to convey through it.
I’ve made T-shirts with different slogans on them and illustrations of my take on political socialization—the way beliefs are processed and how we’re given certain beliefs. One T-shirt I have is people going on a conveyer belt and having beliefs kind of implanted in them. And then I’ve also done collages taking pictures of different politicians, and then expanding, drawing from them, and including little short sentences or fragments of my thoughts at the time.
What is one piece of advice you’d give to American youth who might not be as politically active?
Student and youth in general see politics as something that is beyond their grasp because they say, “Oh it’s just in Washington, D.C.” But really, it’s everywhere ’cause that’s part of a divided government; it’s at every level and it’s on the local level as much as it’s on the national level. And it’s easy to get involved in local government.
Through nonprofits and other advocacy programs, you can really make changes that affect you and your community. If kids get involved at a local level, they’ll be more likely to advance to regional and state and national. …I think that it’s really important for them to know that they can affect their current situation.
By Katie Bolinger, 17, Y-Press
Molly Kawahata, 17
Palo Alto, California
Molly Kawahata takes the term “campaign worker” to a whole new level. The high school senior rearranged her school schedule to have an earlier release in order to have more time to work as the national high school director for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Weeks before the Feb. 5 primaries, she put in hours before school as well as after, such is her commitment to the campaign.
Molly began working for Obama as the state’s high school director soon after he announced his candidacy in February 2007, and by August California had the strongest high school campaign in the nation. Molly has since been promoted, and now she works to help organize similar programs in other states and to train others to run them.
As the primary season draws to a close, Molly is trying not to look too far ahead but instead is focusing on the few remaining state contests. However, she is also optimistic that Obama will prevail and win the Democratic Party nomination. Whatever happens, she says that she is sure she will continue working, though she knows the general election will be “very, very different.”
Why have you decided to become so involved in this election?
This is such a historical election on so many different levels. The participation we’re getting with young people … the amount of new voters that have come into play, I mean, it’s all so big. I think it’s kind of hard just to be watching and not really involved in this process.
Has anyone given you advice while you’ve held this position?
There definitely have been a lot of incredible people I’ve gotten to work with who have given wonderful guidance and advice. They told us about things that have and haven’t worked in other campaigns in which they’ve worked and in other organizing experiences, particularly on campuses. But I think it’s important to stress that students have a lot of, I’m not going to say power, but a lot of freedom in this campaign to just kind of do what they think is best for the campaign and the best methods of reaching out and talking to other students.
What do you think has changed to allow young people to feel a part of the political process?
I think that for a very long time, because of past records -- young people not necessarily turning out to vote and their enthusiasm not really translating to the polls, as we’ve seen in previous elections -- politicians and campaigns just kind of disregarded that vote ’cause it wasn’t something they could count on. I think what changed was that students acknowledged that problem and said, “We need students leading other students, and we need this to be truly student-run and that’s how we’ll make it successful.”
Do you see yourself as remaining politically involved in the 2012 election?
Absolutely. I mean, I’m not planning on leaving the political process, I guess you could put it that way. I have loved what I’ve done, and I think it would be hard to sit out another election.
What advice would you give to other youth who want to get politically involved but don’t know where to start?
Mainly, there’s nobody that’s going to hold your hand or tell you what’s out there. It’s really up to the student to find those opportunities because they do exist. I think just talking to people and using the resources that might available to you locally can really help you get started, and then beyond that I think really just your own initiative and finding out what you want to do and therefore what’s available to you.
By David Glass, 17, Y-Press
Glenn McLaurin, 17
Garner, North Carolina
Attending the University of North Carolina this fall, Glenn McLaurin has done much in the way of helping his community in Wake County, N.C. As an only child, his parents always gave him a forum. He thought if he had that opportunity in the family, he should have that in the community, too.
Glenn has worked hard to give other youth a voice. He’s been involved in Teen Court, a restorative justice program that gives first-time juvenile offenders a second chance to have a clean slate. He’s also been involved in several local elections and is a member of the North Carolina Civic Consortium Committee, a youth board charged with increasing youth involvement in their communities. Last year, they organized a kids’ vote, including a mock election, and they are working on establishing youth advisory groups at organizations in their communities that involve youth.
It was in that capacity that he approached his local 4H program. “I wrote to them hoping to find a way to make sure they really stayed in touch with the youth [and didn’t just include] executives who really didn’t have an idea of what it takes to be a teenager in today’s world,” he said.
He was so convincing that 4H ended up hiring him to be their youth leadership coordinator.
How long have you been doing this kind of work?
I’ve been involved in civic engagement opportunities for the past two years now, beginning with membership on the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium Committee. I’ve always been interested in ways to get youth more active, more involved in the community.
What has been your biggest accomplishment?
In terms of the community effort, I think probably my proudest moment has actually been my involvement in Teen Court. I’m there every other week often till 8:30 at night, and I’m working with these kids who have taken some wrong turns in their life, but have finally had an opportunity to turn things around and they need some support and some help. Every time I walk out of the courthouse doors, I realize that I’ve made a difference in somebody’s life.
You mentioned that you’ve volunteered with some local campaigns. Are you also involved at the national level?
I found that working with local candidates is just easier and has a little bit more person-to-person contact. I would actually support a national candidate. I’m very excited about the election, about being able to vote. But I find local politics more engaging ’cause it is that much more personal.
Whom do you support for president?
Barack Obama. … I was fortunate enough actually to hear both him and Hillary Clinton speak at a conference in North Carolina a few days before the primaries. When he speaks, I certainly feel that he is all about change.
By Tommaso Verderame, 14, Y-Press
Erika Sylvester, 19
Missoula, Montana 
Erika Sylvester has filled her year with political activity. She volunteers on the re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Max Baucus and has been an active supporter of both Democratic presidential candidates.
Erika has been featured in her local paper because of her activism organizing and attending political rallies in her hometown. She plans to continue her political activity after she reports for classes at the University of Montana in Missoula in the fall. She even foresees running for a state or local office some day.
What made you want to get involved in politics this year?
Needless to say, I think it is a very important election. I think that’s the main reason. I don’t really care which Democrat gets elected. I think that we do need some type of change, but I don’t know exactly what type of change is best.
How did you get started?
I mainly wanted to just meet Senator Clinton, and I did get to meet her, and I e-mailed people like our state representative, and they were able to connect me.
What do you think has changed to allow young people to feel a part of the political process?
I think part of it is that Senator Obama is really reaching out to the young public. In my opinion, there’s going to be a large turnout of young voters. And then, Senator Clinton definitely has the female vote, but not as much so here in Montana. I am a younger person interested in Senator Clinton, and here in Missoula it doesn’t happen very often. One out of probably 10 students here are actively supportive of Senator Clinton.
If you could talk to any candidate about any issue, what would it be?
I would probably talk about the health-care system and how they want to improve it, as well as our social welfare systems, such as Social Security, and all the cuts that are being made there.
By David Glass, 17, Y-Press
Jimmy Van Eerden, 19
Stokesdale, North Carolina 
Jimmy Van Eerden is the oldest of 10 children, so he’s used to taking the lead in projects. Spurred on by a friend’s frustrations, he began holding voter registration drives by age 14. He’s also involved in the youth advisory council of the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he and other members are charged with promoting civic engagement in their schools and communities.
And one more thing: He’s helping to start up a youth leadership organization called the I Am Foundation. The idea behind it is that youth need to go beyond identifying problems in our nation. “It’s actually about focusing on each and every one of us individually, and if we do that, then that’s when we can really change the political structure for the better,” he said.
Jimmy plans to attend Grove City College in Pennsylvania in the fall and major in political science and philosophy on the pre-law track.
What inspired you to become politically active?
When I was about 13 or 14, I remember hearing one of my friends talk about politics, and he said something like, “I don’t understand these politicians. Politics seem really pointless.” And then later that night I went back home and talked with my dad a little bit, and I remember him talking about what Ronald Reagan said. He had talked about a shining city on a hill, and I thought to myself, “How can we preserve that when people aren’t willing to be more involved in something as simple as voting and getting involved in the political process?”
You said that you’ve managed to get over 100 people registered to vote each year. How did you do it?
I worked every year on going to churches, going to civic organizations, going to other places and helping them to get registered to vote. You don’t realize that a lot of people actually aren’t even registered to vote, and those that are registered may want to change parties or may want to change positions. And so I think it’s important to help them to be able to do that.
Whom do you support for president and why?
I support John McCain. His military record is very strong in terms of his sense of orders, in terms of our role in other countries, in international relations. But the other thing I like about John McCain, this is maybe the most important issue why I support him, is that in a lot of ways he has bucked the tide, has bucked tradition. Although he was really in with the Republican Party, he parted from them in many ways. And to me that’s a sign of a person that’s strong-minded, a person that’s not willing just to cater to partisan behavior.
