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Behind the scenes: Students share their campaign stories
College Democrats
Senior Brett Cline, President
What are some of the issues your organization most emphasizes in this election to voters?
“It’s voting locally. We live here for 4 years, a lot of elections happen during that time. A lot of decisions are made on behalf of Adair County affect Truman students, and students need to understand that they are a part of that community and our involvement in our region shouldn’t stop when you walk off campus.”
“I think that they play a role. I think their vote is important. They offer a lot of help to campaigns on both sides of the isle. I definitely think Truman students are very involved in the political process up here. I think the county is very accommodating to the fact that we play a role in the process because they give Truman State their own voting precinct.”
Senior Michael Baharaeen, Vice president
What are some of the issues your organization most emphasizes in this election to voters?
“Education is a big one. We have a lot of people at school who are on student loans and this will play a pivotal role in this election for young people. Voter ID laws are another one, the fact that, depending on who wins the secretary of state race it might be harder for people to get out and vote. The last one is women’s issues. We’ve found that a lot of those resonate with female students on campus and with regard to women’s health.”
“I think students don’t see local issues as effecting them much, and so it is kind of incumbent upon the students who do understand the gravity of some of these issues to not only educate but to also get those students out to vote and to care about local races just as much as they do the presidential race.”
Senior Josh Foster, Chairman
What are some of the issues your organization most emphasizes in this election to voters?
“Especially with the college age kids, I’m emphasizing that this election, I believe, and I think a lot of other Republicans believe, that more than any other in the past, this election is about our future. This has been the case for the past 4 years and it certainly hasn’t gotten any better in the last 4 years.”
“I certainly think they have an influence. You can’t have 6,000 students in a town of 17,000 and not have an influence. I wish they would have more of an influence. In 2010, the turnout on campus was about 10 percent. I wish they would be more engaged in the process and hopefully we’ll see that this year. They have the potential to be a force to be reckoned with. I don’t think they always take advantage of that power.”
Senior Andrew Schwartz, Former vice chairman
What are some of the issues your organization most emphasizes in this election to voters?
“As soon to be college graduates, it’s really important for there to be jobs when we graduate, and I think that we really need to turn things around to have a government that is helping promote economic growth throughout the economy and allowing job creators in the private sector that actually create jobs, to create those jobs stimulating them to make sure they can create jobs and not worry so much about creating a bunch of government jobs that are only temporary and aren’t looking towards the future.”
“The institution as a whole has a big influence up here. A lot of people stay registered in their home districts and don’t vote in this district, so there is less of an influence here. If everyone that lived here for 4 years voted for those 4 years, I think you would see a much larger impact.”
Filed Under: News • Off campus • On campus
