How socially conscious are college students?

Photo via: Orchysterium/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

In recent years, as Gen Z has begun to reach adulthood, there has been a lot of attention on their political activism and social consciousness. The COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests and school shootings have all been influential in this generation’s formative years, and they have also been outspoken on issues such as climate change and abortion rights. There has been a vast amount of polling and commentary, much of which seems contradictory, but there is a general notion that Gen Z is particularly politically engaged. The seeming political fervor of Gen Z raises the question: how significant is this and is it out of the ordinary?

Dr. Kevin Mattson, a history professor at Ohio University whose expertise is in American political culture, was able to provide perspective on these questions. Mattson is also on the editorial board of Dissent magazine and has written frequently on American politics and culture. In one article, “The Kids’ Crusade,” he discussed the wave of young peoples’ protests in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting in 2018. While others on the left side of the political spectrum had been very hopeful about their political action, Mattson expressed fear and reservation that the students would become burnt out. 

Mattson again shared a more nuanced view of Gen Z that also points out and laments its tendency toward cynicism and apathy. “You guys are more ecologically attuned, you’re more sensitive about personality traits or peoples’ sexual identities or stuff like that, and I think that that’s true. I just don’t see that cultivating a lot of political energy for people to get involved in movements, and so the cynicism thing is just the easiest way out,” Mattson said. 

Mattson was an activist himself and part of the punk rock movement in the 1980s, and he expressed doubt about activism in this generation. “I don’t see what I would understand to be a big resurgence of activism in this generation. I think there’s just as much apathy, and that goes for both sides of the spectrum I would think,” Mattson said.

Although the Black Lives Matter protests and other recent movements have generated a lot of participation and attention, Mattson contends that these movements did not lead to significant lasting change. “I think that BLM shifted some of the moods. I think that Occupy Wall Street did the same thing, but they left behind very little institutional power or institutional history that you could work with,” Mattson said. In turn, Mattson added that the failure of these movements has contributed to Gen Z’s disillusionment.

Mattson’s time in the punk rock scene gave him an interesting perspective on activism and counterculture, and he is skeptical that a counterculture can reemerge. “When I published a book on punk rock, a lot of people complained and said, ‘Oh, you just think that it’s all over with.’ And I said, ‘It’s not that it’s all over with. It’s just that we’ve tried something out for five to ten years or whatever, and it’s just not sustainable,’” Mattson said. 

This same issue of sustainability has plagued many of the protests or movements that Gen Z has been involved in. Mattson also added, “I think something died in terms of peoples’ thinking that they could form some sort of threatening counterculture.”

While he made sure to note that his sample of students is not necessarily representative, Mattson holds his classes in a discussion-oriented Socratic method, so he also has the benefit of discussing history and politics with members of Gen Z frequently. Mattson noted a trend of students who refuse to vote. 

About one such student, Mattson said, “He said it was a moral issue for him. Like if he were to vote for Kamala, then he’s endorsing everything in this person and saying that everything she does in the future is going to be right and that you’ll stand by her…and that doesn’t strike me as being particularly right.” Instead, Mattson argued that electoral politics is often choosing the lesser of two evils, and this is better than dropping out entirely.

It is also important to note that according to Brookings, in the 2020 election people in the age range of 18-29 cast votes at a higher rate than any other election this century. Although Gen Z may not be particularly politically animated, they did turn out to vote at a high rate in 2020. It remains to be seen whether this will continue in 2024, or if the cynicism and apathy that Mattson discussed will curb this participation.

Mattson said that many of these students who are refusing to vote are on the left and refuse to vote for Democrats because they differ on key issues. One such issue that there seems to be a generational divide on is the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Mattson expressed surprise at the level of attention that Gen Z has shown the issue. Mattson said, “It’s horrific what’s happened and what’s transpired, but on the other hand, whenever I poll my students as to what they are engaged in now, it’s almost always going to be Palestine, which I think is kind of interesting and odd for me.” 

Mattson also pointed out that this inner-party discord is somewhat endemic to the Democratic Party because it encompasses many viewpoints. He said, “I guess you would just generally call Democrats leftists, left liberals, but I think it also includes centrists. I think we have the price of paying for a big tent. Versus the right, which seems to be fiercely protective of people who are engaged in what they’re engaged in, but on the other hand, almost incapable of crossing over and stealing groups from the Democrats.”

Mattson said that he has refused to make political predictions since 2016, but looking forward he said, “We’ve certainly lost public trust. That’s something that if it is as fractured and as bad as it seems to be right now, that’s not promising. A lot of my students will say, ‘Well, we need to do something about global warming.’ And I’ll say, ‘Where’s the political will?’”