It seems politicians are paying attention to young voters.
President George Bush and Sen. John Kerry have agreed to participate in an online debate facilitated by the New Voters Project. The candidates will answer questions submitted to a Web site.
Ivan Frishberg, spokesman for the New Voters Project, said it wasn't difficult to get the two candidates to agree to participate.
"They were both very enthusiastic about it, in part because they are realizing young people are so important in this election," he said.
Online submissions began Thursday, and the deadline is Sept. 28. A panel will nominate 20 questions for public vote - the candidates will respond to 12. Answers to those questions will be posted Oct. 12, and rebuttals from the candidates will be posted periodically.
Frishberg said research has shown college-aged voters are most concerned with the war in Iraq, the economy and education. He also said students tend to ask questions not expressed by other voters.
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"Some concerns are pretty unique," he said. "Things like student loans and higher education are being addressed."
Junior Alyssa Skrepcinski said she is interested in how candidates deal with negative media from other candidates.
"I would ask Bush how he would respond to the Kerry ads that criticize his administration's health care and economic policies," she said.
Sophomore Bryan Vigil said he would ask President Bush for an honest answer about the return of U.S. troops from the Middle East.
"I have friends that are out there risking their lives," he said.
Frishberg said this is an opportunity for young people to get involved in the front end of the political process.
More than 2,000 people submitted questions for a similar debate in 2000.
"We expect to far exceed that this time," he said. "We literally expect there to be millions of submissions."
Libby Lawson, a UNM campus organizer for the New Voters Project, said some of the concerns students expressed include ever-increasing tuition hikes, financial aid dollars, minimum-wage issues and health care.
"They are concerned that when they graduate and are no longer dependent, they aren't going to have good health care options," she said.
The New Voters Project's main focus is to get young people to register to vote. It has teams on college campuses all over the United States, including UNM.
Frishberg said students are taking this election very seriously, and this debate will help young people decide who to vote for.
"There has been an overwhelmingly high demand for more information," he said.
