Despite the buzz of the upcoming presidential elections on the news, Wittenberg students seem less than raring to go in terms of rooting for their preferred candidate. This couldn't have been more obvious during the interviews we did in class on Tuesday, where person after person repeated the same phrase: "Students just don't care". Even the ones that said they supported a particular candidate claimed they were either "less informed than they'd like to be" or that they weren't terrible involved with the current on-goings of the campaign.
This surprised me greatly, since I recall the 2008 elections being a big deal my Junior year in high school. In fact, I remember kids getting into all-out fights in the halls just because one person supported a candidate that they considered a "douche". Ah, the days of Catholic high school. But no such quarrels are being fought at Wittenberg University; at least not ones that you hear (or care) about anyway.
Perhaps this is simply a sign that people as a whole have become relatively detached from the political world. The amount of students who either considered themselves independent voters or who claimed that they felt strongly towards neither candidate consisted of half the group I interviewed. The other half expressed support for one or the other, but also stated that they felt that they weren't as informed about the election as they'd like to be.
I really felt that college students would be more aware of these things, but I suppose I was wrong. Not that I can blame them. With classes, work, and social commitments, something as grim and negative as domestic politics can really put a damper on one's day. As for whether or not students will begin to pay closer attention by the time the Novemeber elections roll around is still to be decided.
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