The elections for 2002 are finally over. No more ads on television, no signs lining the streets and no more debates where the truths and lies are made or broken.
But did anyone at Fairfield even care? In an independent Mirror study, 30 freshmen undergraduates were surveyed. Thirteen males and 12 females from Connecticut were asked who the governor of their home state was. Only four people knew it was John Rowland and all four were male. Not one person out of the entire group, who all were 18-years-old and eligible to vote actually voted this year.
In a time where people our age are being sent off into the depths of Afghanistan and Iraq, many students are asking themselves this rather blunt question in response to the apathetic, cynical, disgusted and disappointed eligible voter: When our country has sent American servicemen and women overseas to risk their very lives for our freedom (including the right to vote), is it really right for any of us not to take half an hour to go down the street and vote?
Exploiting a whirlwind campaign tour by President Bush over the past week, Republicans surprised confident Democrats, retaking control of the Senate on Nov. 5 and making historic midterm gains by not losing ground in the House, where they hold a slim majority.
Some experts attributed the key victories to President Bush and his chief political adviser Karl Rove, who put the war on terrorism and his standoff with Iraq on the back burner to campaign hard for Republican candidates in 15 states over the past week.
“I could honestly care less about all this government and election mumbo-jumbo that I have been hearing about since we got here in September,” said Melissa Nowicki, ’05. “Its just something that we don’t talk about at the lunch table or anything. I think students here feel like its something we don’t need to deal with yet.”
The 1972 election was the first time people 18 and over could vote. That year, 50 percent of 18-to 24-year-olds cast ballots, according to American Demographics magazine.
But during the last presidential election, that number had fallen to a low of 32 percent.
Some students feel that when they see ads on television, they are not directed to them. “I don’t see the point in choosing a candidate on the basis that he or she will help medicare or social security,” said Chloe Tonini, ’04. “I am not thinking that far ahead yet.”
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