Elm Staff Writer
People can barely turn on the television without being bombarded by campaign ads, polling data, and pundits spouting off. With the 2010 midterm election approaching, students are anxious to get in on the action and make their political opinions heard.
Helping them in these endeavors are the two political groups on campus, the College Democrats and the College Republicans.
“The College Republicans have been very active during this campaign season,” said club president Amanda Regan. “We have helped to register students by going door-to-door and providing them with the application and then mailing them back to the board of elections in the county the student is from. We also sent out letters to students reminding them to send away for their absentee ballots if they were already registered.”
Voting is the most common way for all Americans to voice their political opinions. “I think that students feel it is important to register and to vote because they are beginning to realize that what is happening in Washington D.C. and at the state and local levels affect not only the present but the future as well,” Regan said.
Junior Paige Cook, president of Washington College Democrats, also advocates voting. “Voting gives people the ability to affect change. Taking advantage of that fantastic opportunity is an absolute must,” she said.
Freshman Amanda Kloetzli agreed. “I chose to register to vote because I have a right to, and it’s your duty to represent yourself in your country.”
One way to encourage people to vote is to give them information about the candidates. For this reason, the college hosted the two candidates who are running for the U.S. House of Representative seat for Maryland’s first district, which comprises the entire Eastern Shore and parts of Baltimore and Harford Counties.
The College Democrats welcomed incumbent Frank Kratovil on Oct. 20, when he spoke on the topic “Reclaiming A Middle Ground in Washington.”
According to Cook, “It was exciting for the College Democrats to actually meet and talk to the congressman from our district. His visit helped raise awareness about the upcoming election.”
Andy Harris, the Republican challenger to Kratovil, came to campus the next day, Oct. 21, and gave a lecture entitled “Restoring the American Dream.”
“Having candidate Harris come to campus was a great opportunity for students to come out and hear him speak and to learn about what he stands for,” Regan said. “It was also a great chance for students to come and ask Andy Harris questions so they could learn his stance on issues that are important to them.”
Students are also making individual efforts to support their favorite candidates by volunteering with campaigns. Senior Christopher Waldeck is involved with the campaign for Harris as well as for Robert Ehrlich, who is running for governor. “I commit about 5 hours per week, though more activities are pushed in as the election gets closer,” he said. His tasks include “going to the Victory Office in Easton for phone surveying and canvassing, waving signs, going to events and dinners, registering people to vote, handing out literature, and going door-to-door with information.”
“Feeling that you have contributed to the candidate you endorse and who wants the best things for your state and country gives you a great feeling of accomplishment,” Waldeck said were benefits to helping with the campaign. “The inclusion of free campaign dinners, meeting the higher-ups in local politics, and seeing the candidates speak at their events is a great bonus, too.”
With election day just four days away, campaigning efforts are set to continue. Cook’s College Democrats “are planning to put posters around campus,” she said. “And ‘Get Out the Vote’ is October 30 and 31 and November 1 and 2, and the College Democrats are planning on helping out with that campaign alongside the Kent County Democrat Club.”
Other WC students may not be as interested in politics as the members of those organizations, however. Freshman Allie Schoenauer would have liked to register to vote. “I was planning on registering when I got my license, but I didn’t get my license. Now I’m waiting to go back home,” she explained.
Laura Prengaman, another freshman, said, “I’m not really interested in politics. They kind of annoy me, and I find them ridiculously boring.”
Sophomore Zoe Woodbridge is going to vote. “Now that I’m able to vote I’d like to take advantage of that. I think it’s really important for young people to do because we make up such a large part of the population.”
She cited a feeling of separation from the process as a hindrance to voting.“They may see it as something that doesn’t apply to them. We’re in college, we’re still away from the real world.”
This is exactly the sentiment expressed by junior Derek Anzalone. “I’m not interested in politics because I feel it’s not interested in me. It doesn’t support what the people want.” Because of this, he said he doesn’t “see any point” in registering to vote.
Prengaman agreed with Anzalone. “I think that the idea of everyone being able to make a difference has kind of gone away. Not that it’s not true, just that people don’t believe it anymore. They think, ‘so what does it matter what politicians are saying; it’s not like I can do anything about it anyway.’”
Despite this, Prengaman still plans to vote. “It’s the first year I can and I have waited a long time for this,” she said. “I’m probably going home to vote early [rather than vote absentee] because I’ll be home anyway.”
Many students, however, are taking the absentee voting option. “Since I am from New York I have already sent in my absentee ballot,” Regan shared. Cook, Kloetzli, and Woodbridge also plan to vote absentee.
Wherever students fall on the ideological spectrum, it is important that they take the time to vote and express their opinions. “Not only does voting act as a check on the power of the government but voting is also a civic responsibility,” Regan shared. “We are lucky to have the right to vote and the right to speak freely and without fear of punishment if we speak out against the government. The right to vote is a right that should not be taken for granted and ignored.”