海角直播

海角直播 students are eager to make their election mark

How do politicians encourage young people to vote? 海角直播 Journalism students hope they鈥檙e helping to solve this issue through their 鈥楳ake your mark鈥� campaign.

The campaign was devised by second-year students on the BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism degree. They thought of six campaigns as part of their coursework and voted for their favourite, with 鈥楳ake your mark鈥� emerging as the clear winner. Bethany Usher, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of a national trend that more young people aged 18 to 30 were voting in reality television finals than in general elections. Our students thought up this campaign as they feel young people aren鈥檛 buying into the political system set up by the major parties. They鈥檝e grown up media savvy and social network sites are a massive part of their lives so politicians need to find new ways to engage with them.鈥�

The campaign included:

> informing students how to register their vote > videos showing how to vote > updates on the parties鈥� policies > viewpoints on policies.

The students are also assembling a 20-page election newspaper for distribution around the campus.

Araminta Hartley, 19, from Redcar, pictured right, is one of the students, keen to make her mark as a first-time voter. She said: 'Half of my friends have a 鈥榙on鈥檛 care鈥� attitude to the election but voting is important, whichever government is elected will affect us all, including young people. I want to have an in-depth knowledge of the party鈥檚 policies before I go into the ballot box, not just make a decision on the day.'

Fellow student Mark Forster, 22, from Acklam, pictured left, also intends to vote. He said: 'Some of my friends also seem apathetic and disillusioned with the major political parties. This campaign is saying to them and other young people that you can make a difference and that politics does matter.'

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