Students discuss big topics at USC

LOS ANGELES — As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris took separate stages Wednesday night, some of their youngest supporters at USC’s annual student debate followed suit. The event was hosted by the school’s Student Political Assembly with the aim of promoting civic dialogue between students. For some, like Dakota Driemeyer, it was a chance to represent Republicans on campus. Driemeyer was one of the student debaters and is from rural Illinois. He said growing up on a corn and soybean farm shaped his political perspectives.

“The biggest thing that drives me to get involved and involved in politics is protecting this lifestyle that we care about, working with the land and making sure it is there for future generations.” he said.

Driemeyer said he doesn’t necessarily expect to influence voters but hopes to clearly state his position and that of his fellow Republicans.

“I want to use it as an opportunity to present the conservative agenda in a way that is not as hostile as it is often presented to them. If we can show them a different perspective and shed new light on the policies that we actually advocate for,” he said.

As Driemeyer reviewed his notes and prepared for the debate, his Democratic counterpart, MD Zuhayeer, also studied his notes. When Zuhayeer was nine years old, his family immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh. He explained how this experience shaped his politics.

“We went through Trump’s first term with uncertainty about our future in America,” he said. “I want to be a voice for other people in this country who don’t have the opportunities that I was given.”

It is the first election Zuhayeer has been able to participate in, and he hopes the debate among his fellow students would encourage his fellow students to go to the polls.

“Watching their USC Trojan colleagues debate these issues might be closer than watching Trump debate them or watching Kamala do it,” he said.

According to the Tufts Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or Circle Center, 41 million members of Generation Z will be eligible to vote on November 5th.

Of these, 8 million people will have reached voting age for the first time this year. Compared to previous generations, Generation Z voted more frequently – in 2022, around 28.4% of eligible voters cast their votes.

But Mindy Romero, founder of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at USC, says overall voter turnout is still lower. Romero said that’s partly because young people have historically seen lower turnout, meaning politicians didn’t prioritize them — creating a negative cycle.

“They are using a probability voter model that, by definition, excludes younger voters,” Romero said. “As a result, younger voters, even though they are registered to vote, are much less likely to be asked to vote by campaigns and candidates.”

But she added that a peer-to-peer connection – like a debate – could help with voting. Despite the differences that were clearly evident at USC, everyone there said their greatest hope was to see as many of their friends, classmates and fellow students as possible at the polls.