Political interest on campus reaches all-time high

The election, still six days away, has already brought notable speakers such as Chelsea Clinton and Caroline Kennedy to Hawk Hill. These events, organized by Saint Joseph's students, have captured the increased excitement about politics found on campus.

Randall Miller, Ph.D., who has been at Saint Joseph's since 1972, believes the enthusiasm surrounding the political process is the highest he has seen so far during his tenure at Saint Joseph's.

"This election is almost unprecedented, especially in the last twenty plus years," said Miller. "I can't think of any other moment where there has been this level and range of involvement."

Students of all political affiliations have been active on and off of campus to gain support for their candidates. The College Republicans are in talks to bring Senator John McCain to campus. Meanwhile, the College Democrats, who have organized speakers on behalf of both Senators Clinton and Obama, have not organized an event involving one of the candidates.

"The executive board is too split right down the middle," said Joanna Bryn Smith, '09, president of the College Democrats.

The College Democrats have formed two subsidiary groups to maintain interest from supporters of both remaining candidates. These groups, Students for Barack Obama and Hawks for Hillary, have sent students around campus to enlist voters and rally support for their candidates.

Rob O'Reilly-Gindhart, '10, is the campus coordinator for the Obama campaign.

"[We] focused solely on voter registration and general volunteer identification," said O'Reilly-Gindhart. "For the most part, students have a good understanding of what the candidates stand for. I think the Saint Joseph's campus is typically more conservative than most so that did hinder our progress somewhat."

For O'Reilly-Gindhart, involvement in and enthusiasm for with the election began well before Pennsylvania became a battleground state. He got his start during the winter working as a phone bank and door-to-door volunteer in New Hampshire before the first primary election.

Despite Obama's success with college students across the country, the division within the College Democrats on campus is deep. Hawks for Hillary supporters have not wavered and joined the Obama bandwagon. Though they would still support him in a general election, some Clinton supporters seem skeptical of Obama.

"Whenever I see him [Obama] speak, I tend to walk away and think 'what did he actually say?' Whereas [with] Hillary, I know what she supports," said Hawks for Hillary member Maureen Saraco, '09.

The political intensity has grown with the increasingly competitive Democratic nomination process. However, there are still almost seven months until the general election. Miller believes the intensity, although at its highest levels in his 36 years at Saint Joseph's, will fall off by the fall.

"Some people are going to be disappointed," said Miller. "Some won't understand or want to accept the consequences of the political process which is that their person might not get [the nomination]. It is an element of betrayal and you'll see some people sitting [the election] out. I would expect a fall off in intensity."