Another piece calls service learning the key strategy for creating more engaged citizens. In an October 15th, 2015 Opinion piece, WNYC calls for more youth to "Step Up to the Political Plate." Calling out youth voters in the 2014 midterm elections for the lowest turnout (19%) in the last 40 years, WNYC challenges the U.S. to help young people understand that opting out will not fix what they consider a broken political system.
Instead of luring young people with celebrities, the piece argues that we should make civic engagement fun and rewarding in and of itself. How can we accomplish this goal in the face of overwhelming disillusionment with the current system? More service learning in our schools. The piece describes an "action civics" project at a middle school in Queens. Concerned about pedestrian safety, the students became politically active, had fun, and better understood their civic responsibility after seeing how politics directly affected their lives.