Reframing Political Messages: Using a Festival to Reach Young Voters

Public institutions of higher education are charged with "preparing the next generation of informed, engaged citizens for our democracy" (American Association of State Colleges and Universities [AASCU] 2003, 1). Many institutions have fulfilled this mandate by becoming educational partners with Debate Watch, a program of the Commission on Presidential Debates. In this research, we describe a project aimed to generate youth voter interest in and knowledge about the 2008 election. Recalling the McLuhan ( 1964 ) truism "the medium is the message," we shift the study from message content to message form when attempting to engage students in the political process. In particular, we describe the impact of combining discussions about presidential debates with a festival format to see what impact the form had in student civic engagement. We conclude that a festival format contributes greatly to the success of the Debate Watch event.