59.2 percent of students voted for Barack Obama in the school election Oct. 10
The student body elected Barack Obama to remain President of the United States for a second term. Obama, the Democratic candidate, received nearly twice as many votes as Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate and runner up.
The school election gave students such as Sydni Jackson the opportunity to cast a ballot and show their support for a candidate even if they are too young to vote. Jackson has participated in Young Democrats since freshman year, and voted for Obama in the school election.
“I think [Obama] is a good person to carry out the beliefs of the people,” Jackson, sophomore, said. “He does things to help all classes. I agree with him that people should have the right to choose which gender they want to marry. I agree with his effort to get health care for all citizens.”
Eric Alseth, senior, is a member of Young Democrats and has been registered to vote since his eighteenth birthday. His support for Obama was solidified in 2008 when he attended one of Obama’s campaign speeches in St. Louis. Because Alseth was so impressed with Obama’s speech and agrees with many of Obama’s policies and opinions, he plans to vote for Obama Nov. 6.
Alseth believes Obama has a good plan for foreign policy and will work better with other nations. He also supports Obama’s passage and defense of his health care reform. He believes Obama will be able to create a better America as opposed to Romney, especially because of Romney’s economic beliefs.
“I feel that in this case what [Romney’s] doing is providing more for the wealthy in America. And as much as America is a place of opportunity, those people who have already reached the highest heights, which are those wealthier people, should help to make America a wealthier place in general and invest in the populous to make them more capable of attaining higher economic status,” Alseth said.
Tom Kirk, senior, is also an Obama supporter wholeheartedly.
“He has a very presidential presence,” Kirk said. “I love his stance on almost every issue. But he’s also just a really commanding, leading, excited person.”
Kirk supports Obama’s war policies and how the president removed troops from the Middle East as promised. He also agrees with Obama’s support of legalizing gay marriage and the Dream Act, an act which would allow certain undocumented immigrant students to apply for temporary legal status and eventually become eligible for citizenship if they go to college or serve in the military. And while Kirk acknowledges the economy is still not ideal, he continues to believe in Obama.
“The term he was left with was in shambles, and he’s putting forth a great effort and he’s improving things,” Kirk said.
Jackson thinks everyone should at least learn a little about politics, regardless of whether or not they are too young to vote.
“Even though you can’t vote you need to know what’s going on out there, so when you vote, you’re ready,” Jackson said.
Kirk encourages every student who is 18 to vote in the election.
“If you’re 18, why aren’t you registered? Your opinion really matters to this country. You need to get your voice out,” Kirk said. “Politics directly affect your life.”
34.2 percent of students voted for Mitt Romney in the school election Oct. 10
Despite the student body reelecting Barack Obama, there are still many students who support the runner up, Mitt Romney.
Luke Beattie, senior, co-founded Young Republicans last year and currently serves as co-president. Beattie supports Romney because of his healthcare plan and morals, but, most importantly, Beattie supports Romney’s economic plan, which Beattie believes will help save taxpayer dollars and get America out of the recession and begin growing again economically.
“I do believe there are valid points on either side, but the main reason I’m voting for Mitt Romney is based off the economics. He has plenty of experience with business,” Beattie said. “He has more experience in job creation because he’s a businessman. He has to know about the economy because it’s his specialization.”
Casey Norton, junior, agrees with Beattie about Romney’s skills as a businessman. She also supports some of his other policies, such as military funding.
“You can tell Romney loves America and wants to help it in any way he can. He has started businesses from scratch and knows what it [means] to start a business,” Norton said. “And he isn’t cutting funding for the military, which I think is good. Why wouldn’t we fund them when they’re the ones fighting for us and defending our country? That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Michael Seifert, senior, is disappointed he will not be able to vote Nov. 6. He hopes Romney wins the election because of his morals and beliefs.
“I believe he offers more freedom, more equality to people, which we deserve as people under the Constitution,” Seifert said. “I think he genuinely has a heart for the people. You can tell he wants to be there.”
According to gallup.com, a website that, among other things, publishes many polls involving collected data on world news, 52 percent of all likely voters now prefer Romney for president while 47 percent support Obama. This is no surprise to Beattie.
“I firmly believe Mitt Romney is going to win this election,” Beattie said.
Although Norton will not be old enough to vote Nov. 6, she still supports Romney.
“In two years it’s going to be us voting. You still live in this country. You don’t have to be as crazy as I am about politics, but you should still know a little about them,” Norton said. “I know a lot of people who say, ‘You’re 16, you shouldn’t have opinions about politics.’ I say that I can have opinions when [politics] directly affect my family and life.”
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