For years they've employed everyone from Madonna to the New Kids on the Block to try to get kids interested in politics and registered to vote. But Madonna doesn't have anything on 20-year-old Eric Karian, who last week filed a petition with the Boston city election commission getting his name on the ballot for this coming November's mayoral election.
Inspired by a (ahem) Boston Phoenix article that ran last fall, Karian is trying to put his own policies in effect, protecting the rights of students, which he claims to be the right to drink underage, after 11, on Sundays, and to get home at night with extended T hours. But that's not all. In an effort to expand his base beyond drunk college students, Karian has been doing research into what the major complaints about the city are, from the Big Dig fiasco to the potholes plaguing our aging city. He has investigated the police, the hospitals, and other politicians. He has been working hard on one of the biggest homework assignments he has ever been given. And this one was even voluntary.
Other pols are a bit nervous about the young upswell that has already started, and that could revolutionize politics in a way that hasn't been seen since the sixties. Karian has figured out how to get tons of students registered--give them information. By providing info about what each state's policy on absentee ballots is, and what an absentee ballot indicates (with regard to residence, among other things), Karian hopes to convince thousands of students that their interests would be better served by joining with their peers and colleagues and voting in people who are gonna look after students, instead of catering to the usual Back Bay contingency. The implications for what might happen nationally are pretty interesting as well, especially as we see college towns exploding in violence over bars being closed early.
We'll keep our eye on what might shape up to be one of the most interesting races in the country this year. For now, start thinking about what you would do if you ran the city. Maybe Karian will need cabinet members.