Obama or McCain?
Sydney Elliot
Issue date: 8/22/08 Section: News
The upcoming 2008 presidential election between Republican candidate Sen. John McCain and Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama is slated to go down as one of the most significant in the country's history.
Political science professor Lynn Maurer said voting is important, especially in the upcoming election. Understanding the platforms and which issues each candidate stands behind is more important, Maurer said. She suggested students go to the candidate's Web sites to learn more.
"I use the new technology because it says where they stand on all policy issues," Maurer said. "Even if some students don't follow politics a lot they know what they believe in usually."
The process of voting is easy. Choosing a candidate to be the next president of the United States is not. People can often get confused about the issues and where to register to vote. SIUE can help with both of those problems.
Suzanne Kutterer-Siburt, assistant director of Kimmel Leadership Center, said the university will be hosting a series of voter education forums to allow students the opportunity to learn about the issues regarding the election and to help students vote responsibly.
"We do forums because debates don't get anywhere," Kutterer-Siburt said. "Forums hit the issues. I don't know if people understand the issues and how the platforms affect our area."
The hype around the election may be one of the reasons more students are expected to show up at the SIUE?polls come November.
Ryan Watson, senior history and political science major from Chicago Heights, said there has been a great increase in college students who have registered to vote over the last year. He said it might be partly because of Obama.
"The range 18 to 25 has the lowest voter turn out, but I think Obama has really changed that," Watson said. "He's really got young people excited about politics and voting."
Because of this, Watson said he believes there will be a difference in the college student age range, especially in Illinois.
Political science professor Lynn Maurer said voting is important, especially in the upcoming election. Understanding the platforms and which issues each candidate stands behind is more important, Maurer said. She suggested students go to the candidate's Web sites to learn more.
"I use the new technology because it says where they stand on all policy issues," Maurer said. "Even if some students don't follow politics a lot they know what they believe in usually."
The process of voting is easy. Choosing a candidate to be the next president of the United States is not. People can often get confused about the issues and where to register to vote. SIUE can help with both of those problems.
Suzanne Kutterer-Siburt, assistant director of Kimmel Leadership Center, said the university will be hosting a series of voter education forums to allow students the opportunity to learn about the issues regarding the election and to help students vote responsibly.
"We do forums because debates don't get anywhere," Kutterer-Siburt said. "Forums hit the issues. I don't know if people understand the issues and how the platforms affect our area."
The hype around the election may be one of the reasons more students are expected to show up at the SIUE?polls come November.
Ryan Watson, senior history and political science major from Chicago Heights, said there has been a great increase in college students who have registered to vote over the last year. He said it might be partly because of Obama.
"The range 18 to 25 has the lowest voter turn out, but I think Obama has really changed that," Watson said. "He's really got young people excited about politics and voting."
Because of this, Watson said he believes there will be a difference in the college student age range, especially in Illinois.
Be the first to comment on this story