By Glenn Yoder
Just off Huntington Avenue, a handful of volunteers for 2004 presidential hopeful Lyndon LaRouche shout at the passing college students. “Join the fight against Schwarzenegger -The Beast-Man,” one of their signs reads: “Prepare for the post-Cheney era.”
College students have long been a crucial target audience during presidential campaigns. Although LaRouche’s volunteers seem to have Northeastern covered, a recent survey by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics suggests that President George W. Bush may have reason for greater hopes of being reelected.
The poll of 1,202 college students nationwide shows that a shift in campus convictions has 61 percent of students approving of the president’s job performance, which is about 10 points higher than the general public.
According to a statement released by the College Democrats of America, however, the poll was not completely accurate. The statement said that of the people polled, there was a nine percent increase in whites from their previous poll and a decreased sampling of minority groups. The number of Protestants rose 13 percent and more were of the upper-income bracket.
Kristen Perrotti, a freshman speech pathology major, said that Bush gaining control of campuses has Republican students cheering.
“[Bush] has proven already that he’s an excellent leader in bringing our country back from one of the most devastating times since Pearl Harbor,” said Perrotti, a self-proclaimed “fighting heart conservative.” “And he’s just been completely justifying and making right for eight years of wrong that this country had to live under.”
Drew Champigny, a freshman political science major and a liberal, said that the rise in support is of no surprise to him.
“I can kind of understand it,” Champigny said, “but I don’t think college students read enough to know what they’re looking for. If these people took the time and chose to get educated, they’d see that Bush appears to do a lot, but really doesn’t do anything. He hasn’t really done a lot for the economy. I’m just looking for a candidate who isn’t going to make more people hate America.”
While there is a rise in support for Bush, students have issued concerns over the Iraq war effort, defense from future terrorism and the economy they will enter after college.
“I think if people looked into it, they’d see that Bush and his entire team have made their point when it comes to Iraq,” Perrotti said. “People so quickly forget things like September 11, they quickly forget the bombings of both our embassies in Africa, the U.S.S. Cole – that was all made possible by eight years of liberalism.”
In addition to a more active foreign policy, Perrotti said that students are looking for job security when they graduate, but only with the help of a more aggressive president.
“Coming out of school, you want to make sure you got your money’s worth at school,” Perrotti said. “But, most importantly, in the eyes of all Americans right now, freedom and safety should be number one and with that, you will be able to achieve job security and those sort of things.”
Emmie Milbut, a freshman physical therapy major and Republican, said she agrees job security is important, but that the current crop of unsteady Democrats could be another reason for Bush’s rise in popularity.
“This has been a problem for the Democratic Party since Clinton’s reign ended,” Milbut said. “They don’t take a stand on anything, they’re wishy-washy, they don’t have a policy. I could possibly, even though I don’t necessarily agree with him, see myself supporting Howard Dean simply because he makes a point. He has a backbone, and it’s kind of refreshing to see that from a Democrat.”
While the candidates can try to appeal to students until next November, Champigny said there’s one plan that is infallible in getting votes.
“If a candidate can show they can truly fix the economy and presents an economic plan bound to work, it would overshadow everything else,” Champigny said. “That’s what college students want.”
