Despite all the election buzz, 22 percent of Penn State students said they probably will not vote in the upcoming primary, a CBS News and U-WIRE poll found.
On the other hand, among Pennsylvania students who are registered voters, more than 50 percent were very enthusiastic about voting in the presidential election, the poll found.
The poll analyzed information gathered from 217 Penn State students, as well as students attending four-year colleges and universities across the state.
"Voting really is a privilege," said Samantha Miller, spokesperson for the Penn State College Democrats. "I know it's cliché, but people live in places where they don't have this privilege."
Jack Vickrey, former Penn State College Republicans vice chairman, said young people don't vote because they don't realize the impact they can have.
"There is a very large population in 18- to 24-year-olds," Vickrey said. "If we all went out and voted we'd have a large say in the election."
"I think it's the nature of this election," Miller said. "It's been a long time since we've seen such an energized group of candidates who have been able to energize the public in turn."
Some Penn State students have mixed feelings about the election.
"I'm excited and not excited," Sam Newman (junior-business management) said. "It's exciting because there's the idea of change happening. But it's not exciting and will be disappointing if that change doesn't happen."
Among Penn State students, 17 percent feel their vote doesn't matter, the poll found. But Kristen Holland (senior-communications sciences and disorders) feels differently.
"One vote won't change it but if enough people don't go out and vote it could make a big difference," Holland said.
Penn State students also said they had been paying a considerable amount of attention to the campaign and campaign issues, accounting for more than 80 percent of those students surveyed, the poll showed.
"I think its because the candidates are so attractive to young students," Miller said. "They've been catering to young students, who are tired of being marginalized."
Penn State professor Eric Plutzer said he thinks students care less about the campaign compared to non-students throughout Pennsylvania, 90 percent of whom said they've been paying considerable attention, according to the poll.
"This is in spite of the fact that most older citizens have stressful jobs, parenting responsibilities, are more likely to have serious health problems, or are caring for their aging parents," Plutzer said. "Although 'everyone' seems to be talking about the election on campus, in reality there is far more interest off campus."
It is also safe to predict voter turnout of students will lag substantially behind turnout of voters in the upcoming primary, as it has in all previous caucus and primary states, Plutzer said.
