Honolulu Star-Bulletin Local News
We turned on our tape recorder and asked first-time voters to talk about the issues and political process; look for it every Tuesday during election season.
Name: Kara Sanft
Age: 20
Background: Brigham Young University Hawaii Student
Apathy
I think age bracket 18 to 21 doesn't vote very much. College students vote more. For the younger ones, it's partly a situation of not feeling involved. The rest is apathy. I think MTV and 'Rock the Vote' has done a lot. Clinton has done more than Dole because he's young and liberal. MTV is a smart way to go to get people involved. Everyone watches it.
Presidential politics
I have mixed feelings about the election. I'm not really impressed with either candidate. I felt Clinton, for sure, after the first debate. Dole had no chance. But Clinton is really seedy. I had a problem with him avoiding the draft. I have a problem with his $5.2 trillion debt. I am leaning toward Dole. But I'm thinking of not voting at all. I've kind of given up hope on either one of the candidates. I'm not inspired. If I vote for Dole, I will be voting for the party, not the man.
Mayoral politics
Something that really tees me and a lot of youth off is negative advertising.
I wasn't impressed with Fasi or Harris. If I weren't voting in Las Vegas, I would vote for Morgado.
Abortion
My personal feeling is I am definitely pro-life. I do listen to what all candidates have to say, but I think that once people start rationalizing, it goes way farther than we intended it to be. Any way you look at it, bottom line, it's murder. Bad things happen to good people. It's a reflection of the decline in morals in our nation.
Crime
It's tough. I know the solution has to start while the youth are still youth. We need different programs. We have to find different routes for youth to take. It comes from boredom and a lack of family life. Parents and all of us should be as in tune with our effect on other people as we can.
Even if I wasn't a member of the (Mormon) church, I would still believe that the foundation of everything is the family. If it's not there, people seek outward and maybe don't make the right choices. Drugs are also a big problem.
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