With the elections only two weeks away, student involvement is on the rise. More students are becoming involved in the election process, including campaigning, fund raising and registration efforts.

As election day grows closer, the enthusiasm grows, particularly among students currently involved in campus political organizations.

Jonquil Wegmann, a representative of Citizens for Nader, said their group has seen its own student membership and participation increase by nearly 300 percent in the past two months.

“At the beginning of the semester we had about 15-20 members, but thanks to dinners, rallies and our on-campus booth we have seen that number go up to about 80-90 members,” she said.

Chad Schmitz, president of the ISU College Republicans, also noticed a definite increase in participation. Surprised with the number of people involved in this year’s election, he attributes it to a growing enthusiasm with the Republican party.

“More students are getting involved because they feel that they can make a difference, there is definitely a great level of enthusiasm,” he said.

However the reality of the actual number of students on campus compared to the number who are actively involved is quite low.

Voter apathy is a large factor of low voter turnout in the college community. The reality is that college students are the children of “Baby Boomers” and will be affected by any legislation occurring in future years.

Organizations like MTV’s Choose or Lose campaign are dedicated to traveling across the country to college campuses registering voters. Choose or Lose also tries to relieve the tensions of voting and remove the feelings of apathy in younger voters.

“The political voice of today’s post-baby boom generation of Americans, is one which will be taken seriously by politicians only to the extent that voter turnout among the young remains high,” said Alex Abrams, a political analyst for MTV.

The last presidential election appeared to mark the beginning of a resurgence in youth participation in the political process. In 1992, nearly half the voters under the age of 30 cast ballots, the highest level in 20 years. But 1994 was far less encouraging, according to a MTV press release, the youth turnout fell to a dismal 12 percent.

“This time around, there won’t be any good excuses if young people don’t vote. Which is why anything that can help energize this group and send it to the polls on Nov. 5 is of tremendous value,” Abrams said.