Spring Break
Old pros: Graduate students head back to the polls
Perry Robbin
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Election Special
"The results of previous elections have made me more nervous" Grubb said.
Grubb also pointed out that he has not noticed a lot of attention from the presidential campaigns towards graduate students, saying much of the campaigns are geared toward the economy and small business owners.
"They're just students" said Grubb about the attitude of the campaigns toward grad students, even though these students will soon be entering the job market.
Grubb is not the only one who has noticed that the economic concerns have eclipsed education issues in this presidential campaign.
Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush dedicated a significant amount of their campaign discussion to education and 46 percent of Americans polled last month consider education a critical issue, according to an Associated Press story.
Erin Haddad-Null, a fourth- year graduate student in English, has always been interested in the presidential elections and says she feels somewhat more connected to this year's campaigns.
Haddad-Null said the result of the 2000 election, especially the voter fraud that occurred in Florida, has made her more pessimistic and skeptical about future election results.
"It undermined participatory democracy," Haddad-Null said about the issues with vote counting in certain Florida counties during the 2000 Presidential election.
Sarah Hampson, a first-year political science graduate student, feels more connected to the current election that to previous ones as a consequence of studying abroad while the 2004 election took place. Hampson is more optimistic about the result of this election than of those in the recent past.
Julia Blau, a graduate student in psychology, finally feels she has a candidate to vote for, instead of feeling like she has to vote against one of the candidates, as she had in previous elections.
"It's fun to get excited about politics, instead of routinely disappointed," Blau said.
Blau also said she is very connected to the coming election, visiting election information Web sites, such as www.pollster.com, often.
Damian Stephen, a graduate student in psychology, said his choice is even clearer than in previous elections. Stephen said it is important to stay connected to information about the coming election.
"What's at stake is whether or not the American presidency is a joke," Stephen said.
Associate News Editor Kate King contributed to this story.
Grubb also pointed out that he has not noticed a lot of attention from the presidential campaigns towards graduate students, saying much of the campaigns are geared toward the economy and small business owners.
"They're just students" said Grubb about the attitude of the campaigns toward grad students, even though these students will soon be entering the job market.
Grubb is not the only one who has noticed that the economic concerns have eclipsed education issues in this presidential campaign.
Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush dedicated a significant amount of their campaign discussion to education and 46 percent of Americans polled last month consider education a critical issue, according to an Associated Press story.
Erin Haddad-Null, a fourth- year graduate student in English, has always been interested in the presidential elections and says she feels somewhat more connected to this year's campaigns.
Haddad-Null said the result of the 2000 election, especially the voter fraud that occurred in Florida, has made her more pessimistic and skeptical about future election results.
"It undermined participatory democracy," Haddad-Null said about the issues with vote counting in certain Florida counties during the 2000 Presidential election.
Sarah Hampson, a first-year political science graduate student, feels more connected to the current election that to previous ones as a consequence of studying abroad while the 2004 election took place. Hampson is more optimistic about the result of this election than of those in the recent past.
Julia Blau, a graduate student in psychology, finally feels she has a candidate to vote for, instead of feeling like she has to vote against one of the candidates, as she had in previous elections.
"It's fun to get excited about politics, instead of routinely disappointed," Blau said.
Blau also said she is very connected to the coming election, visiting election information Web sites, such as www.pollster.com, often.
Damian Stephen, a graduate student in psychology, said his choice is even clearer than in previous elections. Stephen said it is important to stay connected to information about the coming election.
"What's at stake is whether or not the American presidency is a joke," Stephen said.
Associate News Editor Kate King contributed to this story.
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