When talking with my mom the other day, I asked her what she thought of the coverage of the national political conventions currently underway.

She told me honestly she hadn’t watched more than a half hour of the constant coverage offered by various TV networks.

“Does [the convention] have to be that long, and do they have to cover it that much?” she said to me.

My mom did acknowledge that she’s not in the norm this political season, and many people love the 24/7 coverage of the days-long conventions.

This seems to be true, as many more young people than before are excited about the election this year. But how many people in our age group are actually watching the coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions?

Of the students I talked to, none of them have been watching the convention coverage because of lack of interest or time conflicts.

Freshman nursing major Darryca Brim-Mims said she hadn’t watched any of either convention.

“[The convention]’s probably necessary, but I just don’t watch because I’m not interested,” she said.

Due to the start of school year, senior communication major Cesar Ordoñez hadn’t watched any convention coverage but he believes the convention is worthwhile, even if it is “a bit of a pep rally,” he said.

Rachele Matuszak, a sophomore fashion merchandising major, feels she should watch the convention, but hasn’t had the chance yet. The convention is important, she said, “to make people aware, and be able to choose [which candidate] to pick.”

Matthew Streb, an associate political science professor, agrees.

“There is some empirical evidence that people know more about the candidates’ positions on issues after the convention and that they are more interested in the race as well,” he said.

Conventions used to be the time when a candidate was chosen, and delegates actually voted on who the party would nominate. Now, they seem to be more for show, and the focus is on the post-convention poll bump the party receives.

“Although today’s conventions are staged, they provide an opportunity for the party to heal from a divisive primary, especially important this year on the Democratic side,” Streb said.

The Democrats wrapped up their convention last week. Though the Republican convention has experienced setbacks this week due to Hurricane Gustav, the GOP will likely broach issues of change versus experience and the like.

After the conventions, it’s a sprint to the finish line in November with candidates vying for voters attention.