Published: October 10, 2008 10:36 am         

Prof.: OSU not enthused about election

Conventional wisdom about the presidential election is that college students will vote in record numbers, with Democratic nominee Barack Obama benefitting.

But Dr. Bob Darcy, Oklahoma State University regents professor of political science and statistics, said not to expect either trend at OSU.

“I haven’t seen the kind of campus enthusiasm for the election that I’ve seen in the past and I’ve seen at other campuses,” Darcy said. “There isn’t the flurry of events, there isn’t a lot of buttons, there isn’t a lot of debate in the (Daily O’Collegian), anywhere where students can be heard or would normally be visible. You see a little bit on campus with booths and tables but not even a permanent thing.

“It’s just sort of a Tuesday afternoon you might have the Young Repbulicans out there, but not the continued presence, lots of people with shirts with the candidates’ name on it.”

One of the main reasons, he said, is that the candidates are not campaigning in Oklahoma, which is a lock for Republican nominee John McCain on Nov. 4.

Glenna Craig, Payne County secretary of elections, said Payne County saw an increase of 2,510 registered voters from the Dec. 31 total of 40,799 to the figure of 43,309 on Wednesday. In precincts 11, 14 and 18 — which covers the dormatories, fraternities, sororities and married student housing — the increase is 1,908 — from 3,758 to 5,666.

Increases occur before presidential elections, she said, but this one is unique because there are no “really controversial state question” driving registrations.

“The people registering are registering to vote for candidates,” Craig said. “Before we had the lottery, cock fighting, right to work. This year we can say it’s the candidates driving people to vote. If they turn out to vote, they are turning out for individuals, candidates or parties.”

Matt Holland is a freshman from Broken Arrow who has yet to pick a major. Still, he has made up his mind that he will vote.

“You live in America,” Holland said. “I feel like you should be able to support whatever you believe should be. It’s your right to vote. I think you should take advantage of it.”

Another Broken Arrow freshman, Catelyn Moore, also plans to cast a ballot.

“You are picking who is going to run the country,” the graphic design major said. “I feel like if you don’t vote, you don’t get a chance to complain.”

Steven Owens is a computer science graduate student from Ponca City. He admits he didn’t register before the 2004 presidential election, but is registered now and plans to vote.

“I didn’t feel like I really had a grasp of the issues,” Owens said of his 2004 decision. “I didn’t really watch the news back then.”

Heather Weaver, a Stillwater freshman majoring in graphic design, sees the importance of her vote for more than just the current campaigns.

“I think this election is going to mark how our economy will be run for the next four years or eight years and it’s a major part in our lives as students,” she said. “We are the future of America and who we vote for now is going to reflect who we vote for in the future. It’s going to reflect how our economy will run from now on.”

Craig said she encourages students to register and vote where they are the most educated and can help.

She likes voters to cast ballots in elections from the city level up to national.

“Every citizen over 18 should be interested in voting,” Craig added. “This is not a God-given right. People fought for these rights and we need to make sure we keep them. We need to keep a fair and free election system. We can only do that by continuing to be voters.”

     

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