NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Oct 14, 2004--At an age when many of her classmates are pondering their college choices, 17-year-old Missy Mlotek has even bigger things on her mind - like ensuring that politicians pay attention to the opinions of millions of teens prior to and after the November election. To help mobilize this emerging new generation of voters, she has created and launched Voters in the Next Election, or VINE (www.votersinthenextelection.org), a new Internet site that uses a nonpartisan approach to engage teenagers in the political process.
''This is a critical time in our country`s development,'' said Ms. Mlotek, a resident of New Rochelle, N.Y. and a senior at New Rochelle High School. ''The decisions that our country`s leaders are currently making - everything from the war to abortion rights to the economy - affect all citizens, but none more so than today`s teenagers. We are the ones who will be fighting in future wars, the ones who will be having children in the next 20 years, and the ones who will be entering the work force. There are millions of us, and we should have a voice in the political process. That is the goal of VINE - to ensure that there is an open forum in which all teenagers can express their opinions in a meaningful way.''
Useful Tools that Transcend Parties
In a heated election that has polarized the country, VINE seeks to present a balanced view of the issues, along with useful explanations and links to helpful sites for first-time voters. Links to candidate sites for the Democratic, Republican and Green parties are included, as well as a summary of other independent candidates. Links to The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal are also featured. Visitors can follow other links to vote online, learn more about the registration process, or take a short survey. Through the VINE message board, visitors can talk, debate and share ideas, and political humor also is spotlighted through cartoons and an animated short that equally skewers President Bush and Senator Kerry. The site
also includes VINE editorials that examine a variety of issues, including 9/11, gun control and the importance of voting.
Ms. Mlotek was inspired to create VINE through her involvement in the government club at her school. Beyond her parents, she has received no financial support to launch or maintain the site.
''My goal for VINE is that it will continue to grow and spread across the country,'' said Ms. Mlotek. ''I encourage visitors to the site to share the link with their friends, so the community of politically involved teenagers will grow quickly. The more people that participate, the richer and more valuable the site can become. Ultimately, I hope that VINE and the community it represents become so large that our elected officials know they should listen to what we have to say. It`s very simple: if we want to have a voice in the political process, we have to speak loudly as a unified group.''
For more information on Voters in the Next Election, visit www.votersinthenextelection.org.
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