Students use Web site to get involved with politics

As students return to school and election season nears its peak, hundreds of young Americans are launching a grassroots campaign called GenerationNet.org. The new campaign uses the Internet to give young people a voice in shaping the laws that affect everyone.\nStudents at IU will have a chance to help lead the campaign, because the eighth district of Indiana, which includes Bloomington, is one of a handful of districts nationwide where the Congressional candidates are likely to respond positively to young people's priorities in this election season, according to the website.\nGenerationNet.org's two-stage campaign combines online organizing and offline activism. Until Sept. 15, hundreds of members will vote at the group's Web site, www.GenerationNet.org, to democratically decide the issues that matter most to them. Second, they'll run an offline, grassroots advocacy campaign to hold politicians throughout the country accountable for progress on their top issues.\n"GenerationNet.org is a powerful new voice for our generation," said Peter Schurman, the group's executive director." \n Instead of waiting for politicians to get with it, the organization hopes to let young people decide for themselves how they want their country run and work together to make sure they do something about it.\n"There are 131 million people in generations X and Y, and that's almost half the American population," he added. "More than 40 million of us are active Internet users. Together our voices can have a huge impact."\nGenerationNet.org addresses the problem of young people's alienation from politics. Less than one-third of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in the last presidential election. Yet more than two-thirds of young adults surveyed by the National Association of Secretaries of State believe that "our generation has an important voice, but no one seems to hear it"