Last spring, three forces impelled me into active politics: I set out to improve my country in defiance of President Bush's mythical optimism about the state of our union; Senator John Edwards piqued my interest in his presidential campaign; and former mayor and UA political science professor Tom Volgy inspired me to consider him for post-hiatus re-election. I joined the campaign efforts and dove into politics.

I invited Volgy to speak at a luncheon at my house for a group of friends and family members. We canvassed in several neighborhoods and accompanied Volgy at various political events to hand out literature about his campaign.

As the summer approached, still wet behind the ears, I applied to work as an intern at Sen. Edwards' New Hampshire campaign office. My application was accepted. I bought my plane ticket, and 10 days later flew transcontinental to the Granite State.

New Hampshire is considered by many, especially by those who have campaigned in the state, as the Super Bowl of politics. In many ways, New Hampshire politics can be nastier than the most egregious penalty in football. You may have witnessed it yourself in the media.

In the short week of mental preparation before my two-month endeavor, I formulated a number of expectations. I expected to be surrounded by pundits and gurus whose knowledge of politics eclipsed my own. Instead, I found myself surrounded by individuals, many of whom had no specialized political education, whose support for Edwards and dedication to the campaign was unequivocal.

The two months were defined hard work. I spent nearly 12 hours every day, seven days every week, cleaning up hundreds of thousands of voter database files, telephoning thousands of potential supporters, schlepping campaign material to local activists and ensuring that Sen. Edwards' presence was made known every time he visited the state.

When I returned home, the work did not abate. In November, you may recall, the UA hosted a presidential candidate forum at Centennial Hall. The Edwards campaign invited me to be Sen. Edwards' surrogate speaker just as several other candidates had selected local representatives to speak on their behalf. The competition was stiff: a state legislator, a campaign manager, a former candidate for City Council, a candidate's daughter and a broadcasted personal phone call from one of the candidates himself. But because of my many months of preparation, the pressure and nervousness over public speaking flowed over me like water on a raincoat. With ease, I presented the issues that I became intimately familiar with as an intern.

Needless to say, Tom Volgy failed to win the mayoral race. But Sen. Edwards finished a surprising second in Iowa's recent caucuses and his campaign appears to be gaining momentum.

When I step back from the sheer competition of these political races, I reflect on a metaphysical lesson to participating in politics. Whenever I participate, whenever my fellow students participate, whenever anyone participates in politics, it resonates across the political world and the effects can be far-reaching.

Just take a look at the some of the efforts to attract and mobilize young voters. Rock the Vote was founded in the early 1990s to empower youth in the political process. It has organized several massive nationwide get-out-the-vote campaigns. In co-sponsorship with CNN, it hosted the Democratic candidates at a town hall-style meeting targeted at issues relevant to youth. The Bush-Cheney campaign also coordinated committees in every state to court the youth vote for the general election. The results have been remarkable. In Iowa, 21,000 voters under age 30 attended the caucuses. That figure constituted 17 percent of the votes cast in the caucuses and is four times what it was four years ago.

I can understand that many of us feel disenfranchised from politics and government. What I cannot understand is why we should sit by idly in apathy. What happens today will affect our immediate and distant future. As an example, consider the massive tax cuts whose burden will be borne by us and even our children. We need to question whether the benefits of today's decisions are worth their cost, a cost we will have to pay in the years to come.

While voting is undeniably important, it is not the only way of effecting change. One can join a campaign, canvass a neighborhood, participate in political debates on campus and in the community or attend a legislative district meeting. And if one wants to really feel a part of the political process, campaign in New Hampshire or Iowa.

Jeremy Tor is a political science sophomore. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.