For some reason, we young people have become concerned about choosing the next president of our country. We volunteer in record levels, comprise whole sections in town hall meetings and now, surprisingly, vote in primary elections.

There are plenty of reasons not to vote. Voting takes up too much time from our busy lives, one vote does not actually matter. Politicians will always be the same, and we need to fight the man.

Despite all these completely viable excuses, our predictable demographic, ages 18 to 29, has become not so predictable.

The first two presidential nominating contests show the evolution of our political participation.

Last week, in New Hampshire, 43 percent of all registered young voters turned up for the primary, a 42 percent increase from the 2000 election according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

In Iowa, 22 percent of the electorate consisted of young voters, compared with 9 percent in 2000.

While we young people have finally found the map to our respective ballot boxes, the two political parties do not attract us equally. In New Hampshire, more than 60 percent of us voted in the Democratic primary, and even more disproportionately, 80 percent of us were for Democrats in Iowa.

The Dems may not need a political mastermind to craft this great of a lead, even with Republican Mike Huckabee rocking out on a bass guitar.

Polls have shown that we want change, optimism and sincere attempts to tackle real problems. When debates become battles between, as John Edwards said, “agents of change and forces of the status quo,” we become disgusted with nonprogressive ideas such as Rudy Giuliani’s exploitation of 9/11, Huckabee’s belief in creationism and the perpetual yearning of conservatives to be more like Ronald Reagan.

The three remaining Democrats promise to reward young voters for their support. Most significantly, only Democrats have laid out plans to redesign and increase the aid to students in secondary education – Republicans such as Mitt Romney, John McCain and Giuliani said they would merely continue education tax benefits.

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Edwards have proposed plans that would simplify FAFSA forms, provide certain amounts of money for students in public colleges and replace Federal Family Education and Loan Program with 100 percent direct lending. Clinton has even gone so far as to propose grants for state and community colleges based on graduation rates, which sounds a little too similar to Bush’s No Child Left Behind, except for college students.

Creighton students should vote for candidates who have responded to our political participation by offering a positive, yet sincere, plan for America. This requires voting in state primaries, especially if your home state election is on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5. Visit your state’s Secretary of State Web site to learn about absentee ballots. We have begun to portray ourselves as a viable part of the electorate. Let’s not screw this up. It’s in our best interest.