Turn on MTV today, and chances are the "Real World" marathon is going to be interrupted by an advertisement showing skateboarder Tony Hawk sitting in the Oval Office.
"This is the White House, and the buck should really stop here," Hawk says in the ad. "But actually it stops with me."
This is the newest in MTV's line of ads geared toward 18- to 24-year-olds, a demographic that groups such as Choose or Lose and Rock the Vote have been trying to reach since 1990.
"From actors to musicians, comedians to athletes, Rock the Vote harnesses cutting-edge trends and pop culture to make political participation cool," the group's Web site says.
However, weighing the success of these organizations depends on which statistics are looked at.
AU College Democrats President Greg Wasserstrom said that he "absolutely" thinks these groups have an impact, but that young voter turnout will be high this year not because of these groups, but because of the events and decisions of the past four years.
A Harvard University survey released last October found that 82 percent of undergraduates said they would "probably" or "definitely" vote in this year's presidential election, according to the Web site for Choose or Lose, an MTV-sponsored venture.
However, AU government professor Candice Nelson is skeptical.
"Almost everyone says they're going to vote," she said. "It's an attempt to appear civic-minded."
Nelson cited a survey The Washington Post conducted in 2000, which said almost 95 percent of respondents would either definitely or probably vote. According to Center for Information and Research on Civil Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), only 68 percent showed up at the polls.
Mike Inganamort, the president of the AU College Republicans, was also skeptical of the Harvard survey's results.
"It's one thing to tell MTV you will vote - it's another to actually do it," he said.
Greg Wasserstrom, the president of the AU College Democrats, agreed that appearances may have played into the survey.
"A lot of times people feel pressured to give the right answer," he said. "It's better to say you are going to vote than you aren't or that you're too lazy."
However, Wasserstrom said he was overall less skeptical of Harvard's survey, though he could understand why the actual turnout may be lower.
"That strikes me as surprisingly high, I'm not inclined to disbelieve it though," Wasserstrom said. "It's one thing to be politically aware and to be very engaged this time around and say, 'man, I really gotta vote,' but students have papers and you have to get your absentee ballot and contact your county ... even if they do want to vote I think it's easy for the actual figure to be lower because it's harder for kids to get through the bureaucracy."
Historically, Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 haven't been voting. During the 1972 presidential election the first in which 18-year-olds were allowed to vote, CIRCLE reported that only 55 percent of the new voters went to the polls.
Since then, the group reported that the voter turnout rate for people between the ages of 18 and 24 has dropped 13 percent between the 1972 and 2000 elections.
Nelson attributed this to the perception that candidates don't appeal to youth.
"The candidates don't really talk about issues that are of concern to youth," she said. "[Young people] don't see how voting is going to have an effect on them."
Inganamort disagrees.
"Young people sometimes say the candidates don't talk about 'their issues,' " he said. "As far as I'm concerned, they're all talking about our issues. Saying the candidates aren't talking to me is just an excuse for laziness."
Some young adults, like AU student Anna Burns, don't participate because candidates do not appeal to them.
Burns hasn't yet decided whether or not to vote because she "cannot positively make a decision on who to vote for," she said.
"I registered to vote this year because I understand that it is my duty and I should vote," Burns said. "I have not necessarily chosen not to vote yet, but I don't want to. I do not agree with either Bush or Kerry - they are somewhat sorry candidates ... it makes me not want to vote."
Nelson said increased turnout could play an important role in this year's election because President Bush and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) are so closely tied. "If young people turn out in higher numbers than they have in the past, they can impact the election," she said.
She and Inganamort agreed that the war in Iraq could lead more young adults to vote.
"The war in Iraq is something that people of all ages can see," Nelson said. "If there's even a glimmer of a chance of a draft, I think that's something that would mobilize young people."
Wasserstrom agreed that Iraq will play a large role in the election.
"I think this election is going to be decided based more on foreign policy than economy, which is kind of the exception to the rule," Wasserstrom said.
With the nation polarized into Republican "red" states and Democratic "blue" states, Inganamort said the youth vote is more important now than ever before. "Voters need to listen to what the candidates are saying, realize that this presidential election is one of the most crucial of their lifetime, and then vote," he said.
-Anne Godlasky contributed to this report.
