Even when the future of the country was on hand I still couldn’t bring myself to become extremely interested in what was happening globally. While two men gave speeches about the economy, I was using CNN and the stock tracking option on my phone to watch the little numbers change, and see graphs about the price of tea in China. While people read polls and interviews with the candidates, I stuck to my daily routine of blogs and webcomics. I played video games through speeches, and had fun with my friends through rallies. I was an apathetic voter.

It wasn’t that I didn’t care about the election or the future of the country. It was just that carpe diem seemed like such a better option. When the time came to vote, I’d do so. I’d have a look at the issues in the newspaper, evaluate which candidate I agreed with on said issues and then go out and vote. It’s not a bad plan. I just didn’t care about the process up till now. I’m sure that there were similar stances here on campus, and of course around the country.

In the end apathy doesn’t have to mean you don’t vote, instead it can just mean you don’t care about the research that the polls are spewing out minute by minute. Apathy has become a part of the voting process now, and working through it is the new challenge for candidates.

Danny pauses for a photo while attaching a poster to a fellow Obama supporter

Danny Montalvo has spent the past week going door to door in search of students who would like a “Support Barack Obama” poster to display. Montalvo, a member of the University Democrats at Bloomsburg University, has been volunteering for Senator Obama.

“I think it’s a good way for me to contribute my time towards the Democrats and a great way to recruit people to our cause,” he said.

Montalvo is among thousands of students at Bloomsburg University who have voted in their first presidential election. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t paid attention to past elections.

“Just because I couldn’t vote before doesn’t mean that I didn’t live through the results” he said. “I have seen our former presidents, lived through the problems America is having, and I am proud to support a presidential candidate ready to change that.”

Daniel Rae, 19, sits at the front desk of Elwell Hall, a textbook open in front of him…unread.  He glances at a yellow sheet of paper that hangs on the wall inside the office. “Quote Board” is written across the paper’s top.  A prominent quote near the bottom reads, ‘The Obama campaign is really starting to gear up…  -Dan Rae.’ 

Rae, a sophomore Computer Forensics major, hasn’t always been interested in politics.  Before college, he had a casual interest, but wasn’t actively involved. He explains, “My sister was very involved in politics, and she had a huge influence on me.  When I came to college, she got me into it.”

Since the fall of 2007, Rae has been president of the University Democrats, a political club on campus that has been heavily involved in this year’s presidential election.  “Politics affect everything, and this election is one thing we have complete control over,” Rae says.  He hopes to see at least 2,500 students on campus head to the polls tomorrow, himself one of them.  “It’s my first time voting in a presidential election,” he says, “I’m really excited!”

Rae chose to support Obama because his policies best reflect what Rae feels this country needs.  “His policy on the economy is bottom up, rather than trickle down,” he says, “trickle down has been proven to fail time and time again.”  Rae adds that Obama is an extremely charismatic speaker, and will be able to revitalize America’s standing in the world.

Rae will be at the polls from 6:30 am, even before the polls open at 8 am. He will stay until 8 pm, when the polls close.  “I talked to my professors and explained I won’t be in class all day,” Rae says, tapping his textbook, trying to put off the inevitable studying. 

His 6’2” frame expands for a second as he takes a deep breath.  “We had a pretty huge run in the primaries,” he says with a confident nod, “so this is just a continuation from that.” With his wardrobe already planned for tomorrow…jeans, an Obama shirt, and a green jacket, Rae only needs a few accessories to complete the look.  “I’ll probably find a button or two to put on there,” he says.

As the country waits for the polls to open, Rae reminds students they have certain voting rights.  He adds students should try to avoid attempting to vote during meal times because working people head to the polls during lunch and dinner breaks.  “If you’re in line by 8 pm, you can’t be sent home,” he says, “you have the right to vote.”

We do have the right to vote, and only time will tell how many take advantage of their right tomorrow.

A political pup sports on campus a sign proclaiming its allegiance to Barack Obama during election day.

With the election of the 44^th President of the U.S. in sight, voters are finalizing their decisions and preparing to cast their ballots. The race to the White House has been a close one from the beginning, and now only one question remains: who will finally emerge victorious?

Students on the Bloomsburg University campus seemed more than enthused to express their views and take part in the most pivotal election in years. Volunteer students were placed strategically around the campus today, offering assistance and making sure students knew where to go to vote.

Many students were also sporting t-shirts and badges showcasing their political stances and proclaiming which candidate they were supporting.

There was even a woman walking a dog around campus with a sign pinned to its sweater. The sign read “Bark for Barack.” The woman herself wore a shirt and several buttons expressing her support for the Democratic candidate.

“McCain is old,” Sam Osborne of Bloomsburg University said. “He probably won’t make it past his second year, and plus Obama seems a lot smarter to me. McCain is too much of a clone of Bush, and I think we all know that’s a bad idea.”

She finished by saying she is more comfortable with Obama’s running mate Joe Biden becoming president if something should befall the Commander in Chief, adding that Sarah Palin “would probably mess things up worst than Bush.”

“I sympathize with John McCain the most,” countered BU student Becky. “He seems to have more experience than Obama. I think the most pressing issue is the war in Iraq, and I feel like McCain could deal with that better than Obama.” She went on to say that her first choice was Republican Mike Huckabee, but McCain was a close second.

At this point, it seems the election could favor either candidate. With a myriad of pressing issues awaiting whoever wins the position, Americans can be sure that the next four years will be nothing if not interesting.

Ask Joe and Sandy Young of Harrisburg, PA. They set up a bake table every year at their polling sites during local elections and presidential elections.  They make a variety of baked goods as well as soups, coffee, hot chocolate, and hotdogs to satisfy hungry voters. 

“We are almost clean out of everything and it isn’t even 11:30 yet,” says Sandy.  “We got here and had everything set up by 7am when the first voters were arriving and they’ve almost cleaned us out already.” 

Joe and Sandy say they would get more food throughout the day, and stay well into the night until after the last voters leave. 

“If you want a good voter turnout it’s good to have some good food to go along with it. Especially with this election we are seeing a high voter turnout so people are going to be waiting awhile in line,” explains Young. 

As I placed my vote this morning I was greeted with cookies and apple juice from members of BU Now and it seemed to be a big hit with many students.

Litvinov had just left his local township building and was now headin for another day of classes and practice. But, he had just officially cast his first vote in America, as a full U.S. citizen.

The past year and a half has been a roller-coaster ride of campaigns, conventions and debates and it is clear that this 2008 presidential election will be one for the record books. For Mikhail Litvinov this election will definitely be remembered forever, because it was his first election as an American citizen.

“I am very excited to vote in America, being able to vote and having your vote count is a great thing and a privilege many countries do not have,” beams Litvinov.

Litvinov grew up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a place where people’s votes do not have much significance. He became a full U.S citizen in the winter of 2005 and has kept informed on political issues since.

“This process is really important to me because it shows that I am a citizen and I am able to take part in making decisions in this country,” he said.             

As a commuter, Litvinov gets much of his presidential information listening to the National Public Radio and visiting Barack Obama’s office in town. He tried to ignore the television commercials because “they skew the truth.” When asked which candidate he favors in this election, Litvinov said Barack Obama would get his vote.

“I like his plans on how to make the U.S. less reliant on foreign oil, how to clean up the economy, and how to make peace with other countries like China, Iran and Russia,” he said.

For many people like Mikhail Litvinov, this will be their first time participating in a presidential election. He is honored to have this opportunity and expresses how important having a voice can be, “voting is very important to everyone that is eligible. I think that everyone should care who becomes president because it can change a lot of what happens in the next four years,” he said. 

 

Mikhail Litvinov shows off his democratic pride throughout campus on election day.

John McCain is finding some support with prison guard and substitute teacher Holly Breisch. Choosing between Barack Obama and John McCain was hard for her because she feels that neither is a good candidate.

Breisch feels that they focus too much on money, that politics and money go hand-in-hand. And she doesn’t like that.

She is getting tired of the huge amounts of money that they are spending on  negative ads when they could be spending it to help the country’s financial crisis.

“I feel that Obama is focusing too much of his time on minorities when they already have enough attention and help. He needs to help with the other classes just as much as the minorities” she said.

“Too much money is spent on immigration because they spend it on sending them out of the country and bringing immigrants in,” she said.

Breisch doesn’t agree with Obama’s tax plan and thinks it will hurt middle and working class people.

Breisch said the Iraq War is a pivotal issue and wants to see McCain “finish the job” and bring the troops home slowly.

She currently has a friend serving in Iraq. He told her that the American soldiers would bring the children pencils, crayons, paper, and other supplies and they would all but spit on them because everyone taught the children not to trust the soldiers because they are bad.

Negatives ads from both parties have made the decision between the candidates difficult, obscuring the truth to varying degrees, Breisch said. She wants to hear what the candidate is doing instead of what the other is doing wrong.