Teesside students are eager to make their election mark

How do politicians encourage young people to vote? Teesside University Journalism students hope they’re helping to solve this issue through their ‘Make your mark’ campaign.

The campaign was devised by second-year students on the BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism degree. They thought of six campaigns as part of their coursework and voted for their favourite, with ‘Make your mark’ emerging as the clear winner.

Bethany Usher, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, said: “It’s part of a national trend that more young people aged 18 to 30 were voting in reality television finals than in general elections. Our students thought up this campaign as they feel young people aren’t buying into the political system set up by the major parties. They’ve grown up media savvy and social network sites are a massive part of their lives so politicians need to find new ways to engage with them.”

The campaign included:

> informing students how to register their vote > videos showing how to vote > updates on the parties’ policies > viewpoints on policies.

The students are also assembling a 20-page election newspaper for distribution around the campus.

Araminta Hartley, 19, from Redcar, pictured right, is one of the students, keen to make her mark as a first-time voter. She said: 'Half of my friends have a ‘don’t care’ attitude to the election but voting is important, whichever government is elected will affect us all, including young people. I want to have an in-depth knowledge of the party’s policies before I go into the ballot box, not just make a decision on the day.'

Fellow student Mark Forster, 22, from Acklam, pictured left, also intends to vote. He said: 'Some of my friends also seem apathetic and disillusioned with the major political parties. This campaign is saying to them and other young people that you can make a difference and that politics does matter.'

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