We Brandeisians often pride ourselves on our students' long history of political activism. From sit-ins and protests in the '60s and '70s to activism in Liberal, Conservative, Communist or Zionist groups on campus today, Brandeis students are politically aware. But after some experiences of mine over February break, I've begun to wonder whether this type of youthful activism is actually healthy for the political culture of our country.Over February break, I was lucky enough to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. CPAC is an annual gathering of conservative- and libertarian- leaning activists from around the country at which people network, politicians pander and a good time is had by all. Walking around CPAC, though, gives the vague impression of walking around a College Republicans convention: Year after year, the majority of attendees are college students.

Since I'm a good Republican, I had quite a good time at CPAC, but I was profoundly disturbed by several aspects of the conference, especially the behavior of the college students in attendance. Most of the conference involved sitting in a big conference hall listening to people speak. Participants would walk in and out of the large ballroom constantly; after all, eight hours is a long time to sit and listen to speeches. But I was shocked when I saw which speakers my fellow college students chose to listen to and wildly applaud. They were primarily speakers whose rhetoric was populist, extreme and simplistic.

On the final day of the conference, a panel spoke to the crowd about what a conservative foreign policy ought to be. The lineup on the panel was wonderful: a former official from the Reagan administration; Joanne Herring, who had helped fund Afghani troops in the fight against the Soviet invasion of their country; and Jason Chaffetz, a congressman from Utah. The level of discourse on the panel was very high, and each member sought to inform the crowd that the business of foreign policy is not simple: It requires prudence, wise judgment and decisions among less-than-ideal options. The crowd in the room for the panel was small, and the panelists were greeted with credulity and very little applause.

Not long after that panel, right-wing firebrand and pundit Ann Coulter spoke to the convention, and when she spoke, the room was packed to capacity. Throngs of college students came to hear Coulter stoke populist flames and appeal to the most base elements of the Republican psyche with liberal-bashing one-liners one could practically classify as political pornography. During the question-and-answer session with Coulter, one college student asked her what she thought of Joanne Herring's suggestion that assisting Afghani farmers grow chickpeas could help stabilize the country. To this question Coulter replied, "I thought bombs were the solution to our problem in Afghanistan." The young people in the room responded with thunderous applause.

I don't tell this story in order to discuss foreign policy in the Middle East or to express my distaste for Ann Coulter. I tell it because I was shocked at how poorly the crowds of young activists like me responded to serious suggestions about how to develop a viable, right-wing foreign policy and how happy they were to hear calls for bomb-dropping to solve our problems.

The issue of young people's unfortunate tendency to lean toward populism, utopianism and idealism is not limited to the American Right. It exists on both sides of the political spectrum. Just take a look at some of the political advocacy groups here on campus. Although they don't enjoy the support of a majority of students on campus, Students for a Democratic Society and Democracy for America are two far-left-wing groups who enjoy support on campus out of proportion to what they would enjoy off campus. SDS and DFA even helped bring the radically left-wing, former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers to campus last year. Whatever one thinks about Ayers, he is clearly a radical who would have a difficult time getting a hearing anywhere but a college campus.

We spend a lot of time and energy in this country trying to encourage young people to vote. Since I started becoming aware of the political process back in 2004, I remember "Rock the Vote" campaigns to make voting seem cool to young people. (We all remember when Sean "Diddy" Combs wore that infamous "Vote or Die" T-shirt). And praise was heaped on then-presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama and Congressman Ron Paul in 2008 for being able to encourage young people to get involved in politics.

I think in light of the penchant for populism and extremism, this may be a flawed way to support our political system. Encouraging youth to get involved in the political process is not an inherently worthy pursuit. If what young people bring to the table are overly simplistic and excessively populist ideas about public policy, then they do damage to the political process at a time when wisdom, sound judgment and nuance are needed to solve the tremendous economic and security problems the country faces at home and abroad.

Instead of promoting campaigns to get kids to turn up at political rallies or go to the polls, we as a country ought to promote that kids be educated about the issues. Such an effort could use media like television or YouTube to promote education about the major policy issues this country will have to deal with in the near future. College Democrats and Republicans ought to be more focused on education than activism, and their conferences and events should be adjusted accordingly. An educated young person won't simply call for bomb-dropping as the solution to all our problems abroad, nor will he reduce domestic problems to a simple conflict between, say capitalism and socialism or between the religious right and secular left. The world is a complex place, and promoting educational opportunities geared toward young people would be a great way to curb our bent toward extremism. We also ought to stop praising politicians simply for getting young people to turn out at the polls. The politicians who deserve our praise are those who deal seriously with the issues, not those who can get kids to show up at their rallies.

Perhaps then, as fun as CPAC was, young people should not be encouraged to attend events like it. At CPAC, many speakers come and fan populist flames. They play to young people's proclivities, confirm what they already think and justify their simplistic views. Youth involvement in this kind of politics is damaging to our nation's political climate. Nonpartisan educational events and conferences would be far more beneficial to college-age students than partisan political rallies.

I understand the irony of me, a relatively politically active college student, railing against the involvement of people like me in the political process. But in writing this, I am reminding myself of how I can more positively involve myself in politics, and I hope to transmit my own introspection to this article's readers.