thedrifter
02-20-06, 07:04 AM
From This Morning's Editions Of The News-press
Meet politics' young blood
FGCU students hope to make a difference
By Jennifer Booth Reed
jreed@news-press.com
Originally posted on February 20, 2006
From his place in the classrooms at Florida Gulf Coast University, Tyrone Martin has his sights set on Capitol Hill.
Martin, 22, left the Marines after four years of active duty and delved into a political science major at FGCU. He's already had broad leadership experience. He's a student senator now, and during his military stint, he was the president of the noncommissioned officers battalion.
When he left the service, his fellow Marines presented him a plaque reading "Senator Martin."
How fitting
"I enjoy being an advocate for human rights and individual rights," said Martin.
According to some observers, the country needs more people like Martin. A study conducted for the Council for Excellence in Government in March 2004 found that just 10 percent of 17- to 24-year-olds intend to run for office.
One in three people that same age said a career in government service is appealing, a figure that has dropped since 2002 when two of five wanted to pursue a government job.
"What we're finding now is nobody is going into government service because nobody has asked them," said Carl Fillichio, the council's vice president.
That's in stark contrast to the young adults 45 years ago who took to heart what John F. Kennedy implored: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
There are lots of different kinds of leadership, but on this Presidents Day, college students reflected on their desire to make a difference using politics, and some current leaders and political observers talked about why the country needs more people to step into government-related jobs.
Brain drain?
In the next 10 years, 60 percent of the federal government's 1.6 million white-collar workers and 90 percent of the top government executives are eligible to retire, Fillichio said.
"This is a very depressing perfect storm. We've got all these people leaving and all these young people not particularly interested, and one of the reasons is because they were not asked," he said.
The study his organization commissioned found that 73 percent of the 455 people surveyed said no one had ever talked to them about government-related work.
Exposure to political and leadership studies appears to be another issue.
"It's kind of like Latin. It's a special group that will take it," said Edison College Professor Benjamin Polk, who teaches leadership and political science.
He recruits leaders from student organizations and said once they take his leadership course they begin to see their own potential.
One of Polk's students, in fact, credited his courses for helping turn her on to politics.
"I was so enthusiastic over the two (political studies) classes that I enrolled in an internship with Congressman Connie Mack," said Tracy Grubb, 41, a business administrator who is back in college to study nursing.
She said she'll be active politically once she starts her new career, but not in a traditional sense. Grubb said knowledge of politics can help her lobby for health-related issues or perhaps serve in a professional organization or a state health board.
"You can't avoid it," she said of politics. "You're part of it whether you want to be or not."
Laurel McFarland, the executive director of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, said there is a good amount of interest in public service jobs.
College grads are working for nonprofit organizations or taking consulting jobs. They may be working with the government, but they're not working for the government, McFarland said.
While Fillichio considered that to be a somewhat troubling trend, McFarland didn't see it that way.
"You can do public service and not work directly for the government," she said. "I think they feel good about what they're doing."
Political advice
State Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, jumped into political office early. He was elected to the Senate in 2002 when he was 31.
He thinks young people don't go into politics because they don't understand why it matters.
"It's not just about Washington, D.C. It's about what goes on in Fort Myers. What goes on in Lee County," Aronberg said.
He got into politics by serving on campaigns. After graduating from Harvard University, he worked in the state attorney general's consumer fraud division.
He ran for office because he wanted to fight fraud within the government.
"Make sure you have a reason for running and make sure you can explain it in one or two sentences," Aronberg advised would-be politicians.
FGCU political science major Todd Cofer, 20, sees two reasons why the career plans of college students don't list government or political work. They think they can make more money in the private sector and they think government is a bit scandalous, he said.
"I think the state of where government is at today with the (lobbyist Jack) Abramoff scandal and (vice president Dick) Cheney shooting his friend ... I think there's just a bad rap about government right now," Cofer said.
But he sees no reason for concern.
"I think a lot of people wait until later in their career to go into politics. Most people don't grow up to be politicians," he said.
Ellie
Meet politics' young blood
FGCU students hope to make a difference
By Jennifer Booth Reed
jreed@news-press.com
Originally posted on February 20, 2006
From his place in the classrooms at Florida Gulf Coast University, Tyrone Martin has his sights set on Capitol Hill.
Martin, 22, left the Marines after four years of active duty and delved into a political science major at FGCU. He's already had broad leadership experience. He's a student senator now, and during his military stint, he was the president of the noncommissioned officers battalion.
When he left the service, his fellow Marines presented him a plaque reading "Senator Martin."
How fitting
"I enjoy being an advocate for human rights and individual rights," said Martin.
According to some observers, the country needs more people like Martin. A study conducted for the Council for Excellence in Government in March 2004 found that just 10 percent of 17- to 24-year-olds intend to run for office.
One in three people that same age said a career in government service is appealing, a figure that has dropped since 2002 when two of five wanted to pursue a government job.
"What we're finding now is nobody is going into government service because nobody has asked them," said Carl Fillichio, the council's vice president.
That's in stark contrast to the young adults 45 years ago who took to heart what John F. Kennedy implored: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
There are lots of different kinds of leadership, but on this Presidents Day, college students reflected on their desire to make a difference using politics, and some current leaders and political observers talked about why the country needs more people to step into government-related jobs.
Brain drain?
In the next 10 years, 60 percent of the federal government's 1.6 million white-collar workers and 90 percent of the top government executives are eligible to retire, Fillichio said.
"This is a very depressing perfect storm. We've got all these people leaving and all these young people not particularly interested, and one of the reasons is because they were not asked," he said.
The study his organization commissioned found that 73 percent of the 455 people surveyed said no one had ever talked to them about government-related work.
Exposure to political and leadership studies appears to be another issue.
"It's kind of like Latin. It's a special group that will take it," said Edison College Professor Benjamin Polk, who teaches leadership and political science.
He recruits leaders from student organizations and said once they take his leadership course they begin to see their own potential.
One of Polk's students, in fact, credited his courses for helping turn her on to politics.
"I was so enthusiastic over the two (political studies) classes that I enrolled in an internship with Congressman Connie Mack," said Tracy Grubb, 41, a business administrator who is back in college to study nursing.
She said she'll be active politically once she starts her new career, but not in a traditional sense. Grubb said knowledge of politics can help her lobby for health-related issues or perhaps serve in a professional organization or a state health board.
"You can't avoid it," she said of politics. "You're part of it whether you want to be or not."
Laurel McFarland, the executive director of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, said there is a good amount of interest in public service jobs.
College grads are working for nonprofit organizations or taking consulting jobs. They may be working with the government, but they're not working for the government, McFarland said.
While Fillichio considered that to be a somewhat troubling trend, McFarland didn't see it that way.
"You can do public service and not work directly for the government," she said. "I think they feel good about what they're doing."
Political advice
State Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, jumped into political office early. He was elected to the Senate in 2002 when he was 31.
He thinks young people don't go into politics because they don't understand why it matters.
"It's not just about Washington, D.C. It's about what goes on in Fort Myers. What goes on in Lee County," Aronberg said.
He got into politics by serving on campaigns. After graduating from Harvard University, he worked in the state attorney general's consumer fraud division.
He ran for office because he wanted to fight fraud within the government.
"Make sure you have a reason for running and make sure you can explain it in one or two sentences," Aronberg advised would-be politicians.
FGCU political science major Todd Cofer, 20, sees two reasons why the career plans of college students don't list government or political work. They think they can make more money in the private sector and they think government is a bit scandalous, he said.
"I think the state of where government is at today with the (lobbyist Jack) Abramoff scandal and (vice president Dick) Cheney shooting his friend ... I think there's just a bad rap about government right now," Cofer said.
But he sees no reason for concern.
"I think a lot of people wait until later in their career to go into politics. Most people don't grow up to be politicians," he said.
Ellie