Informal survey of students show Obama is the pick of the campus over Romney
Pam Bump and Allison Lamell
Equinox Staff
Over 70 percent of informally surveyed Keene State College students said that they would vote for President Barack Obama over his opponent, former Governor Mitt Romney, in the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 6, 2012.
Although a majority of the large student sample favored President Obama, 57 percent of students described themselves as Independent when it came to choosing a political party or candidate.
22 percent identified themselves as Democrats while roughly 11 percent stated they were Republican. Five percent had no party affiliation.
The informal survey conducted by 230-level Print Journalism students included the responses of over 260 undergraduate students on campus.
This is the first of three Presidential tracking polls that will be conducted throughout KSC campus over the next month.
“I actually hate politics,” junior Ally Massi said. “But I want to vote for Obama because of what he had to go through the past four years. He couldn’t get to what he wanted to yet.”
A great number of students indicated a lack of support for Romney’s policies.
Phrases along the lines of “Mitt Romney sucks” came up multiple times from various respondents.
“I mean, we lean towards Obama because he’s very good with the media, but I also don’t think Mitt Romney really relates to young people,” senior Brian Rabadeau said.
According to the survey results, Romney’s public proposal to remove funding from Planned Parenthood as president lost him a lot of youth votes in the upcoming election, especially with women.
Freshman Liv Marele said Obama gets her vote because, “He supports a woman’s right to choose what to do with her body. He also supports marriage to be between anyone.”
When students considered the top two issues in the 2012 presidential election they were the rights for women and the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community.
Many students noted that a concern for the rights to their bodies rose above all other concerns when it came to the election and candidates. One junior said, “I want the right to choose what happens to my body.”
Although contraceptives and gay marriage were a common response, education, financial aid and finding a job after college were also ranked as popular concerns of polled KSC students.
Other respondents added similarly about why they supported Obama over Romney in the upcoming election
Junior Justin Dempsey said, “I choose Obama for the sole purpose of school funding and loan funding.”
“After I graduate will I be able to find a job?” freshman Allison March asked.
March continued, “how can candidates expect us to pay for college with a poor economy? I’m not asking my parents to pay for it.”
Regardless of their voting preference, a lot of students stressed the importance of actually voting.
Roughly 75 percent of students said they planned to register for the upcoming election, while 53 percent were already registered.
A large number of respondents agreed that the youth’s voice is more powerful than they realize.
“I would say that more people need to be informed about politics to understand the different values each candidate stands for,” another junior said.
The junior continued, “Our generation does not really believe that his or her voice is truly important,” another junior said.
When asked how she would describe the voice of young people in the 2012 election, senior Melanie Berry said, “I hope it’s heard. I hope people don’t think that they can’t change anything.”
“I believe that it’s getting stronger,” March said. “Candidates need to realize that we’re the future and our opinions and right are valid and important.”
This is the first of three Presidential Tracking Polls, made up of 260 KSC students surveyed by Print Journalism students from Oct. 1. through Oct 7.
Pam Bump can be contacted at pbump@keene-equinox.com
Allison Lamell can be contacted at alamell@ksc.keene.edu