A few things:

1. I used to hate when people talked about politics, but recently in an English class we write a lot about American wars so things are more interesting now, the more informed I am.

2. I don't know how old you are, but college students like myself or our generation are said to be apathetic towards current events. IMO I think it is important to be knowledgable about current events, but there is no need to know everything or know nothing.

3. Many people when they sit with others at a meal try and talk about neutral things like the weather, sometimes its good when people start mixing it up with each other.