During a recent dinner with my brother who is about to start work on his PhD, our conversation, as it often does, veered to politics. Now, the political debate between a journalist and a doctoral student can be – and often is – heated, even if the two share a somewhat similar view.Specifics of the conversation aside, it led me to wonder: Are students becoming more politically attuned than they were in the past? It’s seems to me that its rare to speak with anyone college-aged these days who doesn’t have some sort of opinion on the current political state of the country – positive or negative.A Facebook group for Young Republicans lists 1,155 members. Young Democrats of America’s Facebook group boasts 3,052 members. Not to mention countless groups for Libertarians (3,236 in one group), Reform Party members, along with groups for liberals and conservatives who don’t identify with any specific party.And while traditionally the college-set is pegged as a liberal group, I knew a sizable chunk of people during my college days who were part of the young conservative movement.Students who had little to no concern with the machinations of politics in high school now found themselves standing on one side of the aisle or another, or left wondering when it became uncool to be a moderate.So, am I way off base here? Have I just happened to meet more politically-minded students over the past couple years, or is there really a tendency for the younger generation to find at least one political issue to get jazzed about?Any students out there who care to comment on why you do (or don’t) get involved in the political discussion?