Youth Will Serve

Since some 11 million under-21 voters will be entitled to cast their ballots in 1972, politicians and pollsters are eager to take the pulse of American youth. The Merit Publishing Co., which publishes an annual volume called Who's Who Among American High School Students, canvassed 23,000 student leaders among juniors and seniors in the nation's high schools.

A full 34% preferred the Democratic Party, while only 20% opted for the G.O.P. Another 34% called themselves independent, and 10% were undecided. If these youngsters have their way. Senator Edmund Muskie will win the presidency. Pitted against Nixon and Governor George Wallace of Alabama in a sample ballot, Muskie garnered 57% of the vote compared with 28% for Nixon and 2% for Wallace. In fact, Nixon was defeated by every Democratic hopeful except Hubert Humphrey.

The students placed highest priority on ending the war in Southeast Asia, and they considered the environment and poverty the most pressing domestic problems. One mildly heartening figure: 79% thought social and political change can be brought about within the system. Increasingly, youngsters are being given a chance to participate: in a brief ceremony in Perry County, Pa., Governor Milton Shapp swore in Michael J. Simmons, 18, as a member of the five-man local draft board.

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