Lucas Joncas, president of MSU’s College Libertarians, said he thinks younger people tend to not pay as close attention to politics and policy as their older counterparts might. Joncas said he thinks that lack of knowledge might lead some to foster a naive attitude.

“Keeping track of the government is incredibly important to make sure they’re not abusing their power,” Joncas said. “They’re just like us — they have their own motivations. And those desires are, a vast majority of the time, not going to be in line with what we want them to do.”

Joncas said while many students support some of the policy measures on the libertarian platform — such as opposition to drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan, and NSA spying — those who don’t tend to defend those programs more vehemently than older people he encounters. Still, he says those students are few and far between.

Curtis Audette, a social relations and policy junior and communications director for the Michigan Federation of College Democrats, handles voter registration for the group on campus. He said many students he comes into contact with lack an understanding of the political process and government more broadly.

But Will Staal, president of the MSU College Republicans, said students he has met are interested in political issues, with membership in the club growing and even boasting increased attendance at meetings. Average meeting attendance has increased from about 12 people per meeting last year to 50 this semester.

“Gridlock in Washington is making students realize they have a lot more skin in the game,” Staal said.

Faith in the government to effectively address international and domestic issues has been sloping downward for about 10 years. About 49 percent of those polled by Gallup said they were confident in the government. That level of confidence is lowest for those older than 30.

Coming up on the cusp of middle age is a hectic time for many, said John Cavanaghmk, co-founder of the Lansing-based polling firm EPIC-MRA. With a myriad of doubts over financial stability coming to a head, many just “need a dog to kick,” he said. But among youth, “there’s still a touch of idealism, and enough life experiences haven’t beaten them up enough to become as jaded,” he said.

“Politics are always full of faint and false moves,” Cavanagh said. “But I think it’s reached a crescendo in most people’s minds.”

With the federal government shutdown caused by political gridlock, uncertainty over potential U.S. military strikes in Syria and privacy concerns amid revelations of mass government surveillance, tumult and doubt seem to pervade much of the American public sphere.

Distrust pervades both major political parties, Cavanagh said, though it’s often more visible among voters of the party opposite of the one holding presidential office. Republicans tend to be more dissatisfied with the government when a Democrat is president, and vice versa for Democrats. The split only is intensified by the way congressional and state districts are drawn, he said.

Many believe the Watergate scandal and the war in Vietnam were a turning point in trust levels. But never before in polling history has the American public felt so skeptical of government’s efficacy, research shows.

There seems to be an “unprecedented” polarization of political ideologies in Congress, said Vladimir Shlapentokh, a sociology professor at MSU. Thus, the “extremist” elements on both sides of the aisle became the norm for politicians of all types in the U.S. system, he said.