As Floridians hit the polls last Tuesday, members of the UT community shared an array of opinions.
Some campaigned hard for their candidates of choice, while others didn’t vote or simply didn’t care.
Some were passionate in exercising their right to vote.
‘If you’re a true American, you should want to support and vote for policy changes that you agree with,’ said graduate student Diana Callahan.
Senior Lacey Greenberg also voted, and agreed with Callahan.
‘It is important for people our age to pay attention to what is going on in the election,’ she said. ‘Since we are the future of our economy, it is important to realize we have a say in where our country will stand decades from now.’
The Republican nomination was wide open before the Florida primary, with Gov. Mike Huckabee, Gov. Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain each scoring key victories in other early primaries.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani chose a different strategy, focusing all of his campaigning in Florida. After a disappointing loss in Florida, Giuliani withdrew from the race and declared his support for McCain.
Some UT students were vehement in their defense of a candidate.
‘I like [McCain’s] straight forward style,’ said Callahan. ‘I feel that even if he knows you will not like his response, he will give it to you anyway. He is a senator that can reach across party lines to make important changes that are in everyone’s favor.’
Despite the many different flavors of candidates available, some students were less impressed by the diversity.
‘A candidate is a candidate,’ said sophomore Robert Felton.
Sara Ellis, a senior and registered Democrat, disagreed with Felton.
‘To see a Mormon, black man, and woman all run for election is awesome,’ she said. ‘I think it shows that we are headed in a great direction as a country.’
Hillary Clinton won an easy victory in the state, although the Democratic National Committee took away all of Florida’s delegates at the party’s convention this summer.
‘I don’t think we are going to have a woman this year,’ said freshman Britney Lynch. ‘She’s not good enough.’
Junior Victor Quinones considered voting for Barack Obama, but expressed reservations about voting for a first-term senator.
‘I almost want to be reckless and vote for Obama just for the sake of having a black president, but comparatively, he’s an inexperienced young guy,’ he said. ‘Hillary is a strong-ass woman. She’s had a hand in the presidential game for eight years. She went from a husband that cheated on her to a senator in New York, and now she’s back kicking ass in Washington.’
A number of members of the UT community did not vote, citing various reasons.
One student who only wished to be called ‘Joe,’ claimed that he didn’t vote because the last few candidates he voted for weren’t elected.
Sophomore Cory Speisman and junior Reagan Quarg both requested absentee ballots from their home states of Maryland and New Jersey, respectively.
A large number of UT students are from out of state, and most were preparing to vote absentee or not vote at all, including Kyle Smith, a sophomore who never even registered to vote.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul has seen great support on college campuses, but only one student surveyed was passionate in his support of Paul.
‘I’d usually go for the most appealing Democrat, but this time around I’m feeling what Ron Paul has to say,’ said senior Chris Clark. ‘One of his biggest things is getting rid of the IRS, and for a poor guy like me, that’s mad awesome.’