She isn't YouTube's famed Obama Girl, singing about her crush on the candidate for all the world to see, but Jacque Roberts says hearing Barack Obama speak at the 2004 Democratic convention got her excited about being an American and inspired to do something.

"I LOVE BARACK OBAMA, and I wanted to be a part of getting him elected," said Roberts, a student at Brigham Young University whose now working on the Obama campaign. She was 16 when she saw his 2004 convention speech.

"He came on, and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I felt like this guy is genuine. He means what he says. He wants to change the country for the better. He cares about the individual people. He listens. He has real values. He just got me excited to be a citizen of this country," Roberts said.

Campaigning for students

Roberts isn't alone in her campaign involvement. Just type in Obama, Hillary, Mitt or another presidential candidate's name into searches on YouTube, MySpace and Facebook and you'll see how candidates are reaching out to young people, and how they're reaching back.

All the major party candidates have an Internet presence, and most have blogs and videos to reach out to voters, particularly the young and technology savvy.

Roberts is now the outreach coordinator for BYU Students for Barack Obama. The group is just getting started, but group members volunteered at Obama's fundraiser in Park City earlier this year. Members plan to volunteer at more fundraisers and help students register to vote.

On Thursday, Mitt Romney's campaign announced that a 23-year-old college student from Provo had won his "Team Mitt: Create Your Own Ad!" contest. The winner, Ryan Whitaker, will become the first amateur to have a video used as an official TV ad for a presidential candidate, according to a news release from the Romney campaign.

The ad is called "Ready for Action" and can be viewed at www.mittromney.com/YourAdWinner.

Besides the video ad contest, Romney is offering college students a 10 percent commission if they raise more than $1,000. Romney's Web site says he has students working in all 50 states and at 200 colleges and universities.

BYU student Westin Hatch started a group for BYU students who support Mitt Romney. He works with the campaign to disseminate information about events and fundraisers. There are more than 300 members in his group on Facebook.

"A lot of times, people just don't know," Hatch said.

Richard Davis, a professor of political science at BYU and the chairman of the Utah County Democratic Party, said that over the course of history there have been candidates who have resonated with young people, especially because they have fresh ideas, short political careers and are younger.

Since 1972, the first presidential election in which 18-year-olds got the right to vote, candidates have been reaching out to that age group, with varying success.

In the 2004 presidential election, 47 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds made their voices heard at the polls, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. That's compared to 72 percent of people aged 55 and older.

What drives young voters to the polls in 2008 could be the candidates and their values.

According to a recent survey of 18- to 29-year-olds from Democracy Corps, young voters say economic issues and the war in Iraq are the top issues of concern in the 2008 election. Also, they favor Hillary Clinton or Obama to win. Democracy Corps is a nonprofit organization that "provides free public opinion research and strategic advice to those dedicated to a more responsive Congress and presidency." The group is led by James Carville, a political consultant who has worked with Bill Clinton, and Stanley Greenberg, a political strategist who has also worked with Bill Clinton.

Roberts wants people to get to know Obama.

"I want to make a big impact. I think that's the reason why I want to give my time and energy to this," she said. "I want people to know who he is. I want people to see what I see, and if they don't see what I see, I want to know what they see."

Time commitment

BYU student Dave Garber dropped six of his college credits this semester so he would have more time to organize people and events for presidential candidate Ron Paul. The candidate -- a doctor from Texas -- is a conservative who advocates for what he calls constitutionally limited government. He has about 30 years of experience in U.S. House of Representatives.

"I really like what Ron Paul stands for," he said. "I think he's just right on with the principles."

Paul says he has never voted to raise taxes. He has voted to keep a balanced budget and is against the war in Iraq.

Garber founded a group called BYU Students for Ron Paul 2008. He had never worked on a campaign before. Today, Garber doesn't have a paying job -- he spends all of his non-school time working on the campaign, forming Ron Paul meet-up groups online, attending events and even going door to door to spread the message.

BYU sophomore Scott Gemmell can't wait to get involved. He has donated money to the Romney campaign but said he wants to do more. He said he would skip out on school if he was needed on the campaign but not for more than a week.

Stephen Gardner, 26, a BYU student who supports Mitt Romney, wishes he could be more active in the campaign.

"I'm by far way too busy to be doing that kind of stuff," Gardner said about going door to door. He has a wife and a son as well as a full load of classes and a job.

Other students have fewer obligations, such as children or house payments, so they can drop their classes, drive across the country or pass out literature door to door.

"Students have a lot more time, a lot less responsibility. And I think my mom would, definitely if she was my age, be doing what I'm doing. I think a lot of people feel like they want change," Roberts said, who is working on Obama's campaign. "I feel like students have this special time in their life where that's what they can give -- their time, their energy, their hearts, to something like this. So I feel like what better time to be involved in this campaign."

A different kind of support

Dennis Farnsworth, who teaches history and political science at Utah Valley State College, said political participation among young people ebbs and flows. In his 36 years at UVSC, he has seen the most fervor during the election season in 2004 when filmmaker Michael Moore came to Utah. He thinks activism and participation will increase as the 2008 election draws closer, though he doesn't expect a lot of activity.

"I think most of our students are largely apathetic," Farnsworth said.

Roberts said she thinks that her involvement will make a difference.

"If I didn't believe that I could change the world, I don't think life would be worth living," she said.

When 18- to 24-year-olds become politically active, they don't get involved like their parents or older counterparts. The youth volunteers wear candidate T-shirts, scream at honk-and-wave events and hand out literature.

"I think parents, they send money. I think young people, since maybe they don't have money, they give their hearts," Roberts said.

BYU professor Davis said students are an enthusiastic group that isn't tied to jobs or mortgages. They tend to be idealistic thinking they can change the world. They will sacrifice plans and work without pay -- something good for candidates.

"This is once in a lifetime campaigning for Barack Obama, if he wins. This is historic and it matters a lot to me. I've given my time and my energy to it because it does," Roberts said.

There are at least 17 presidential candidates who have raised or spent more than $50,000. According to the Federal Election Commission, more than 1,000 people have filed statements of candidacy. Over the next year and a half, they will be whittled down until the United States has another president.

The national party conventions are less than a year away, but the first votes that could decide the 2008 presidential election will be cast in the District of Columbia on Jan. 8. The Utah presidential primary is scheduled for Feb. 5.

¢ Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2459 or at blusk@heraldextra.com.