The Children Of Gridlock

IN THE FLORAL-PRINT LIVing room of Delta Delta Delta house, Lora Giovannucci and her friends were unimpressed. Giovannucci, 21, is a junior at Ohio State University. She calls herself a Republican, but hasn't decided how she'll vote in November. When President Clinton came to campus last fall, she and several other Tri-Delts braved the rain. They were disappointed. ""He talked about education loans and our football team,'' she said recently, exasperated.

Over at the campus radio station, Channel X, John Scurry also said the speech left him cool. Clinton, he said, ""told us to talk to someone of a different ethnicity.'' It was a message of unity in the face of difference. ""I thought, "That's nice.' But,'' he said, thinking of Washington bickering, ""you guys don't do that.''

These are the children of gridlock, a generation whose political landscape has been shaped not by Watergate or world war, but by infighting and stalemate. For Clinton in particular, they are a critical constituency. In 1992, according to a National Election Studies survey, college-age voters supported Clinton more strongly than any other age group. But this year he cannot count on that support. In a NEWSWEEK Poll of potential voters age 18 to 29, far more identified themselves as independent than as either Democrat or Republican. And though the poll gave Clinton a healthy lead, nearly one third said they did not care very much who won the election. A strong majority -- 71 percent -- said that most government officials don't care what people like them feel.

With its student body of 48,676, Ohio State is the most populous campus in the country, and part of a hotly sought voting bloc. No Republican candidate has ever reached the White House without Ohio. Much has been made of young voters' shift to the right in the 1980s. But on campus, students are more likely to talk about frustration with the parties than about ideology. Scurry, 21, voices a typical complaint with both sides. ""The political system has gotten too us-against-them, liberal-against-conservative.''

This is a change from a generation ago, when Ohio State students, like others nationwide, protested the Vietnam War, determined to win their point or shut things down. Now, says Jenny Nelson, 21, they are desperate for compromise. Nelson, a nutrition and English major, considers herself a conservative; last year she was elected to student government with a liberal running mate. The idea was that they would get things done. ""Why is it so important to further Republican ideals or to have everyone believe Democratic ideology?'' she asks. ""What does solving Medicare have to do with party politics?''

In NEWSWEEK' Poll, young people cared most about traditionally Democratic issues -- education, unemployment, the environment, race -- and less than the general population about Republican themes like the deficit and family values. But they are also likely too view the two parties as too far apart: either controlled by extremists or just unwilling to cooperate. This, too, marks a generational change from the days when students assailed the parties as too close together. In the Ohio State student union on a recent afternoon, April Bradick, 21, wore a T shirt that read, ASK ME WHERE MY PIERCING IS. (Answer: nose, tongue, navel.) The two parties, she said, are playing ""a kindergarten game. They won't agree on anything because they're not supposed to.''

The Columbus campus still has ideologues of either stripe, sometimes at the same table; several students cite abortion as a divisive issue. But more common is a simple frustration with stalemate. Jennifer March, 18, says she's impressed with the ""Contract With America,'' even though she opposes much of it. ""They got something done.'' A registered Democrat, she said she would vote for Dole if he gave her a reason. ""I have a lot of conservative views; I have a lot of liberal views,'' she said. ""If people would recognize that we're all like that, I'd have a lot more faith in our political system.'' If there's an idealistic fire smoldering on campus, it is this.

of young adults feel government leaders can't make progress because ""our problems have become so complicated.''

consider themselves independents, compared with _B_27% _b_who are Democrats and _B_26%_b_ who are Republicans.

say that Clinton understands their concerns; _B_16%_b_ say that Dole does.

of young voters are concerned that Dole might be too old, compared with _B_26%_b_ of all adults in a recent study.

FOR THIS NEWSWEEK POLL, PRINCETON SURVEY RESEARCH ASSOCIATES INTERVIEWED 380 18- TO 29-YEAR-OLDS MAY 1-5, 1996. THE MARGIN OF ERROR IS +/- 6 PERCENTAGE POINTS. THE NEWSWEEK POLL, 1996 BY NEWSWEEK, INC.