ANCHESTER, N.H. - ''To me, voting equals power and power equals voice,'' said Julia Mejia. ''Voice equals change.''
Mejia, 29, is one of six members of the MTV Street Team - a new addition to the station's Choose or Lose 2000 Campaign, which was launched here yesterday at New Hampshire College.
One week away from the state's presidential primaries, the emphasis in the crowded campus field house was involvement.
''We have the ability to make choices with the political process, but the first choice is the choice to participate,'' said Vice President Al Gore, whose daughter Karenna was scheduled to speak for him. Borrowing a phrase from Ghandi, Gore said, ''You must become the change you wish to see.''
Some of the hundreds of students who attended, despite an early-morning snowstorm, were still undecided about whether to choose or lose.
''Honestly, I'm not involved,'' said senior Sherri Evans, 21. ''I'm not even sure I'm going to vote. I might be a loser.''
But a friend of Evans' was more optimistic. ''I'm more inclined to listen,'' said Sarah Pumpel, 21, who added that no candidates were speaking up on environmental issues, something important to her. More young people don't participate in the political process because they'd simply ''rather be watching MTV,'' Pumpel said.
A greener planet is also a priority for Amy Livingstone, who sported a ''Vote environmentalist'' T-shirt as part of the nonprofit organization, Campus Green Vote. Livingstone, 24, wants her peers to realize they can take a stand on issues, and make their votes count.
''The candidates are going to be shocked to see how many young people are going to be putting their ballots in the ballot box. We're a huge voting bloc, and unfortunately, in the past, they have ignored us,'' she said.
Campus Green Vote is part of a national coalition, YouthVote2000, which targets young people to take their local activism and translate it into votes this November. Deputy campaign manager Ryan Friedrichs said with this ''Internet generation,'' there's no excuse why candidates can't reach out to young voters.
A graduate of Dorchester High School and Mount Ida College, Mejia never imagined she would be working as a reporter. In fact, she turned away from the career in school. But she said, ''Peer-to-peer influence is the most important.
''Young people feel really removed from the issues. They don't see how health care impacts them ... or Social Security,'' she said. ''What we do is help young people see how the issues affect them.''
And that, say the folks from MTV, is the goal.
''Our audience really listens when it's other young people telling their stories,'' said Stephen Friedman of MTV. ''We've talked to every major candidate. The fact that they're talking to us means they care about the youth and the youth vote.''
