Every year it’s always said, ‘this is the greatest election of our lifetime.’ This time, Fairfield University’s politics professor Dr. John Orman said he believes it.
Several residents of the Ignation Residential College attended a dinner series in the Loyola Commons Wednesday night to hear a panel of their university’s faculty discuss the election.
‘There are a lot of firsts in this election…possibly the first black president or the oldest, and first woman,’ Orman said. ‘My father is voting for McCain because he thinks Palin is beautiful,’ he said laughing.
Another politics professor, Dr. Jocelyn Boryczka said that these types of attitudes come at the expense of greater discussion. ‘A lot of guys, like his dad,’ she said jokingly, pointing to Orman, ‘think [Palin] is hot. I’m concerned about her and the diversions like how much her suit costs. But she does have, if we like it or not, executive experience. If only we can take that seriously.’
Chris Haliskoe, Loyola dorm resident assistant, reminded, ‘This is the only election these students will be participating in while an undergraduate in an academic setting.’ When the audience was asked how many have already voted, the panel was impressed to see a significant amount of students raise their hands.
Orman said this year the big question is: can teens ‘rock the vote’? ‘If we can get up to 35 percent that would be a huge turn out,’ he said. ‘Your generation has been described as post-racism. My generation was not. I remember when Dr. King was assassinated. I cried but one of my friends yelled ‘they finally got ’em’ excitedly.’
Sophomore Melanie Rice thinks it’s a huge deal that an African American is running for president and getting a fair election. ‘It’s great the election is so close considering Obama is a black man,’ she said. ‘Years ago that would never have even been considered, it really shows how progressive America is getting.’
Economics chair Dr. Philip Lane said the two candidates couldn’t be more different, but where the economy is concerned, ‘neither bring to the table a business or finance background,’ he said.
Lane warned students about listening to the questions posed during debates about the economy. ‘Don’t listen because they dodge every single question,’ he said. ‘They don’t know economics. I don’t think they’ll accomplish anything; the economy is just that bad. We are dealing with a meltdown.’ The audience laughed when he said, ‘don’t worry, when you graduate, there is always McDonald’s.’
When asked who or what will make or break this election, Lane said the economy. ‘People are going to vote with their pocketbooks,’ he said.
English department chair Dr. James Simon thought voting security would be a major factor. ‘Will the republicans rig the voting machines?’ he asked. ‘Is the security better than it was in 2004?’
Later, the panel was asked how George W. Bush will go down in history. ‘People have already called him the worst president in American history and his term isn’t even over yet,’ Orman said.
Simon said Bush just has an ‘utter lack of understanding’ of the world and that he seems to substitute faith for reason. ‘I want to be able to consider my president as smarter than me and I can’t say that’s so,’ he said. ‘I think historians are going to be harsh on him.’
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