What these Jersey millennials want in our next governor

For my news internship at New Jersey 101.5, I was given the opportunity to head over to The College of New Jersey and interview a few students there regarding the upcoming New Jersey gubernatorial election. I was curious as to how well-informed my age demographic was regarding the election.

"What do you think are New Jersey's most pressing issues. How would you like the new governor to solve them?"

Most of the college students I spoke to had strong opinions about what needs to change in New Jersey, and voiced concerns on issues that were out of their "college bubble." They spoke aboutprison reform and the quality of New Jersey's roadwork. Notably, the students that were planning on going into the education field all voiced concerns regarding the Christie administration's treatment of teachers, which is unsurprising.

"What can be done in New Jersey to lower the cost of college tuition?"

In the 2016 presidential election, the debate over college tuition costs was commonplace, with some candidates even promising free college for those who ca't afford it. While many millennials indeed desire free college or reduced tuition, I was curious as to where they believe the funding should come from.

In terms of tuition costs, I was not surprised to see that, as college students, the millennials I interviewed all supported lowering tuition costs to a degree. But they did disagree whether free tuition was possible. Some said it could be possible for all schools to offer a free education, with others argued that was unfeasible.

"What can the next governor do to better reach out to millennials?"

Seeing politicians such as Bernie Sanders earn unmatched millennial support during the 2016 presidential election, I was curious as to what millennials think is the proper method for sharing your political platform with the younger demographic.

It was interesting to see the split opinions regarding political outreach, with some respondents supporting social media usage. Others said excessive twitter usage was condescending and ineffective. One thing they all agreed on, however, was that Bernie Sanders did a good job at earning millennial support, and that upcoming political candidates, regardless of political affiliation, should try to keep Sanders' successes in mind.

Overall, I was quite impressed how politically informed the millennials I interviewed were. Despite complaints and stereotypes regarding the political awareness of the millennial generation, those I interviewed showed a thorough understanding of the current issues that New Jersey is facing, and their opinions about millennial outreach are crucial.

Nick Wodeshick's recently completed his internship with New Jersey 101.5's newsroom.