Fourteen million young people were eligible to vote in a presidential election for the first time Tuesday, according to information gathered by research staff from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE.

A poll conducted by CBS News on behalf of MTV and CIRCLE documented that interest in the election is the highest it has been since 1992, and 81 percent of young voters have been paying attention to the election. With issues as controversial as national security and the war in Iraq, how do youth decide whom to support?

Dr. Peter Levine, deputy director of CIRCLE, said most young adults tend to have the same political views as their parents, although there are some exceptions. For people whose views differ from their parents, the mass media is the most important informational source.

Kelsey Buchanan, junior in LAS, is an independent, despite the fact that her parents are Republican.

“I don’t believe in either one of the party’s complete manifesto,” she said, adding that she doesn’t believe in either party enough to call herself a Republican or Democrat.

Buchanan said she has been an independent her whole life, and she attributes her views to her personality type.

“I question everything,” she said.

Buchanan said neither her extremely liberal teachers and friends nor her conservative family members question their views enough.

“I’m much more skeptical of what people tell me,” she said.

Although her differing political views can cause tense moments, Buchanan said her parents support her opinion and have always encouraged her to think things through.

While Buchanan respects her parents’ political beliefs, she said she forms her own opinions based on information from different sources, including professors and friends.

“I question them, and whatever makes sense to me, I believe,” she said.

Buchanan’s beliefs correlate with national statistics. According to a CIRCLE study, political affiliation is split evenly among youth with one-third considered independent, one-third Democratic and one-third Republican.

Young voters are less partisan, and, overall, more likely to vote on individual issues, Levine said.

Lauren Savastio, junior in LAS, is also an independent, although she said she tends to agree with Democratic views on many issues. Savastio’s parents are both conservative Republicans.

Savastio said she has never felt pressured by her parents to adopt their political views.

“They agree with me that it’s better to vote on an individual basis for a candidate than a party basis,” she said.

While Savastio said she occasionally talks about politicians at home, she became more interested in politics at the college level. As a political science major, she said she reads many articles about political theory and discusses political issues with friends. From there, she makes up her own mind.

Unlike Savastio, Teresa Marquis, a sophomore at Bradley University, identifies herself as a Republican, although her parents are Democrats. She said she learned that she was Republican after talking with her dad and not agreeing with his political beliefs.

“Republican politicians have a lot of the same views I agree with,” she said.

Marquis said in high school she wasn’t interested in politics, but since she started college, she watches the news and debates and keeps up with current events.

The fact that she is a Republican doesn’t bother her parents, Marquis said.

“They’re more shocked than anything, but they support my views,” she said.