One of the things I've really noticed this month is how many of my friends and acquaintances not finished with college are taking the semester off or taking the bare minimum of hours so that they can be involved in political work.
It isn't entirely new, of course. Twenty-thousand youth went "Clean for Gene" in 1968 and canvassed New Hampshire in the middle of winter to promote Eugene McCarthy for president, sometimes sleeping on couches or floors and for meager pay. During the 1970 student strike where UNL students took over the ROTC building, one of several demands made was that students should have a week or two off school before election day in order to help campaigns and canvassing (this would have replaced the Thanksgiving holiday in the school year).
But I have two guys I knew in high school, now poli sci majors at Wayne State College, canvassing Joplin, Missouri, from now until November. They're taking the semester off. Two other friends in Lincoln are going to work for Nebraska Matters, one of them significantly reducing his course load for the semester. Several other people I know not quite as well are also getting involved with various campaigns. It seems there's real momentum building, especially among youth, for a large progressive turnout this fall.
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