Are You Part of the 84%?

By: Ashley Giandomenio
Posted In: News

More students at colleges and universities across the country are getting involved in this year’s presidential election than in the years past and are nplanning to vote on November 2.

Not only have more students registered to vote, but hundreds have also been involved in local, state and even national campaigns.

Students are being encouraged to vote by their campuses by way of holding film viewings, televised debates, dialogues and voting registration tables have been offered to students.

Some campuses have also used the national campaign, “Raise Your Voice” as a way to get students involved in the election. Maggie Grove, director of the RI Chapter of Campus Contact, said that there is every reason to believe that college students are serious about voting.

“There has been an amazing amount of energy and activity on campuses across the state this fall,” Grove said. “Students are registering and will vote in November.”

According to a recent poll conducted by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, all of the resources to encourage students to vote seem to be paying off. Poll results show that the students’ motivation to get involved in politics that seemed lacking in 2000 is omnipresent in 2004.

The Harvard survey states that 84% of college students have registered and are planning to vote in the upcoming election. Even though many of these students may not actually send in a vote, the registration rates are much higher this year than in 2000 when students showed little enthusiasm for the politics and memberships in political organizations were scarce.

Salve Regina professor Dona Tocco Greenway believes that one of the main reasons that students have taken an interest in this year’s election is the war in Iraq.

“The fact that we are in a war has everything to do with the heightened interest. The question of whether there will be a draft has grabbed students’ attention,” Greenway said.

Cassandra Guglielmetti, a student at URI and a first time voter, said that her biggest concern is the continuation of the war in Iraq.

“I’m afraid that if Bush is re-elected then the draft will be reinstated and pluck, people to go abroad at random,” Gugliemetti said.

However, students are concerned with other issues regarding the election as well such as homeland security, foreign policy, health care and the economy as a whole.

Yet, whatever the reason, many students are planning to vote for a change. Emily Dauenhauer, a student at Salve, has already sent in her ballot.

“It is one of the most important elections of our time,” Dauenhauer said. “We are at war right now, we have a huge (budget) deficit, jobs are being outsourced, school funding is going more towards the abled than the disabled, and tuition costs for college have risen 35% in the past three years. We need change.”

Salve student, Mary-Jayne MacDonald feels that students are committed to this election and will go to the polls in November. Therefore, a new generation of voters will be born and the form of the electorate will be different.

Additionally, a new, vivacious and essential voice will be added to the political dialogue.

“I think a lot of younger people are realizing that their vote may actually be worth it,” MacDonald said. “Four years is a long time to wait to have your say again about things that will affect just about every aspect of your life.”