This truly is America's thirteenth genera- tion. Born between 1961 and 1981 and ranging in age from 11 to 31, we are the thirteenth generation to live under the US flag and the Constitution. In many ways, however, 13 is more than a number. It's an obstacle, something to overcome - like the floor the elevator doesn't stop on or the doughnut the baker doesn't count.
Has the apathy of this so-called "generation X" put the future of the country on the line? Many people - from politicians to educators to statisticians - say yes. While some of these accusations may be grossly exaggerated, even FHS students claim that when it comes to the world of politics, they just plain don't care.
"I don't have any interest," said junior Paula Bridger. "I can't vote. It concerns me who is going to be president, but I have no choice in the matter anyway."
These students are not alone in their lack of interest for politics. FHS has discontinued both of its student political clubs - both Young Democrats and Young Republicans.
"Last year I was the advisor of Young Democrats because there was great student involvement," explained biology teacher Jeff Anderson. "(My role) was pretty much name-in-print because there were great students who ran it."
Citing a lack of interest as the reason for the club's failure, Anderson said that he would be willing to advise in the future if students show as much initiative.
Said Anderson: "There are a lot of things they could be doing, especially with the local Democrats."
random poll The Arrow recently conducted on student participation and awareness regarding the upcoming election is another indicator of political apathy.
Results show that not only are a lot of teenagers not interested in the political spectrum, but a good percentage are uniformed on current issues as well (see sidebar).
Approximately one in two students watched at least one of the presidential debates, many as part of a class curriculum. Yet when asked to identify Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole's running mate, only 50 percent of FHS students named Jack Kemp. Twenty-two percent knew that Dole was proposing a 15 percent tax cut and 61 percent of students could identify President Clinton as a former governor of Arkansas.
While these statistics may appear startling to some, Flathead Valley Community College professor of political science John Moses says they may actually be higher than the norm.
Twenty-two percent of correct responses is "right around the ball-park" for young people, said Moses. "Some of the other statistics were actually very high (for this age group)."
"The numbers say that participation is down but I'm not so sure that awareness is down," explained Moses. "I think kids coming out of high school today are more informed about the economic realities as much as any generation."
However, Moses stressed the point that awareness means little if it doesn't lead to action by youth.
"Being informed about the issues may not be good news unless it sparks some sort of behavior on the part of the electorate," said Moses.
And when it comes to the youth electorate the fire has yet to catch flame.
According to Rolling Stone, voters under 30 are consistently the smallest voting bloc. Clinton's 1992 election saw the largest participation by this age group in history - they made up 21 percent of the voting public - yet interest seems to be falling once again.
The last national election in 1994 captured only 13 percent of the youth vote under 30, and recent polls of college freshmen show more students than ever feel that politics is "a waste of time."
Educator and House District 78 Democratic candidate Tim Dowell cites a number of reasons for the lack of political participation among youth.
"I think (young people) have a lot of other interests that keep them away" from politics, said Dowell. "And a lot of times they probably don't feel that the issues affect them as much as older people."
"Young people haven't been around long enough to see these things directly affect them or their friends, but they certainly do."
"I think what young people need is to see how government can affect their life," added Dowell, naming the environment and hunting legislation as just a few of the many issues that affect the young and future generations.
Whatever the reasons for this trend of apathy, if young people don't care about politics, politics won't care about them.
"If any particular group doesn't participate that the system doesn't remember them," said Moses. "It's a vicious cycle of neglect on both ends of the spectrum."
The '92 election in spired hopes of a re birth of 60s-style idealism and youth programming has launched massive ad campaigns, such as MTV's Rock the Vote, in hopes of improving the youth turnout. Yet some feel that the problem must be addressed on a level other than the media.
"It's taken some amount of time for this problem to arise," said Moses. "I think that one thing we desperately need is to start political education at an early age, such as second or third grade, before students are seniors in high school."
"As a government teacher, you try to make the students more aware by teaching the process of government and analyzing current issues that will affect students today, tomorrow and for years to come," said government teacher Mark Dennehy. "Anything that's going to make them more aware of the democratic process is going to help in this apathy towards politics."
However, perhaps the most important answers to what it will take to vitalize the youth electorate must come from the young themselves.
"It seems the only issues that are relevant to adolescents right now are how our parents can get us through college," said senior Alee Scarburry. "I think there should be more issues concerning us and how we can get ourselves through college."
"(Young people) need to realize that it's not just our parents taking care of us anymore, and we're voting on things like student loans that are really affecting us now," added senior Laurell Sward. "(Politicians) need to stop appealing so much to the older generation. True, they're a big voting block - but we're the future."
There are many ways teenagers can get involved in politics and make their issues heard. From writing letters to Congress to simply staying informed on the issues, students can all contribute to the democratic process.
"I volunteered for Pro-Choice over the summer," said senior Breean Thurber. "I thought it was important to give information to those who wanted it and I wanted to help because it is something that I strongly believe in."
However, not everyone has to be a political activist to be heard.
Says Moses: "If young people really want their issues to be addressed, they just need to vote."