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As the election season ramps up with important races around the state and the nation, teens in Wisconsin are becoming more involved in the political process. On this edition of Teen Connection, a group of young people and adult experts will discuss the current state of teen involvement in the electoral process and how youth of voting and non-voting age are affecting change.

This episode's panel of young people and the live call-in phone bank includes students that identify with various parts of the political spectrum. Jamie Stark is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Zach Howard is a student at Preble High School in Green Bay who is involved with Republican organizations. Amy Pruski, a student at UW-Madison, will represent an independent perspective.

In addition to the featured young people, this Teen Connection's panel will include Keith Knutson, a political science professor at Viterbo University in La Crosse.

Knutson will discuss why teens in the current "millennial generation" are particularly interested in the political process – both in election preparation, and in working with legislators and other officials in crafting legislation on various topics.

"The way today's teens approach politics, they are inclined to look for solutions to problems that they see the world facing," Knutson said. "They are a very civic-minded generation."

Knutson also will talk about how the current generation is reminiscent of previous generations that affected the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln in light of the impending Civil War and the 1932 election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression.

"For this generation, the No. 1 issue is the environment," Knutson noted. "This generation also is the most ethnically diverse ever and they are unwilling to submit to forced division by society." "And, now with the current financial crisis, there is a particular event for people to rally around, where there are problems whose solutions can't be put off to a later date."

This episode of Teen Connection also will feature a video segment from the democracy it is! educational television series. The segment, from an episode called "Principles of Democracy," focuses on the election of Kyle Corbin as an 18-year-old mayor of Union, Ore. Representatives from the League of Women Voters will be in the studio to answer questions about Wisconsin's early voting process.

Toll-free phone service is provided by Nsight Long Distance.

Host Kathryn Bracho appears courtesy of WBAY-TV/Green Bay.

WPT is a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Wisconsin Public Television is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV/Madison, WPNE-TV/Green Bay, WHRM-TV/Wausau, WLEF-TV/Park Falls, WHLA-TV/La Crosse and WHWC-TV/Menomonie-Eau Claire.