By MICHAEL GILKISON, Staff Writer
Junior Stephanie McGray scans her G-card after participating in the Caf Poll.
Have you ever wondered what Georgetown College students think about the 2008 Presidential Election? The Georgetonian has been curious, too and decided to find answers by using the new technique of “Caf Polling.” Around noon on Monday, 56 students were polled and were asked two questions: Are you going to vote? If yes, then which candidate will you vote for? Students were given the options of Senator McCain, Senator Obama or undecided.
Each student voted only one time as they scanned their G-cards for lunch. The students were mixed between males and females, and by graduating class. This poll represents about 5 percent of Georgetown College students. Out of this random selection, only two students said that they were not going to vote. Both of the students said that they were registered in their hometown and that they did not have absentee ballots. The other 54 people said that they were going to vote. 15 people voted for Senator Obama, 21 people voted for Senator McCain, 18 people were undecided and one person wanted to vote for another candidate. After completing the poll, it was evident that undecided voters will play a crucial role. There have already been two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate in the past few weeks. Many undecided voters will be making their decisions based on issues of energy, the bailout plan, the economy, healthcare and so on.
Senior Matt Higgs said, “I haven’t chosen a candidate yet, but I’m worried about the financial crisis, so whichever candidate has a real plan to even out the recession will earn my vote. If Obama can, great. If McCain can, great. I’m worried about finances for my future family and children.” Junior Caitlin Chilton said, “I don’t want the economic situation we are in now to repeat itself. If Democrats hadn’t put people into housing that they couldn’t afford and had paid attention to the flags raised by the White House, then we wouldn’t be forced to bail out private companies. It’s a temporary solution to a problem that will have to be fixed by the next president. If Obama were elected, it would only continue. Senator John McCain gets my vote.”
Junior Steven Swinson feels differently. He said, “Obama came to visit my school in Washington D.C. and he is an advocate for families…He also wants to help rebuild our run-down schools. It’s about time that America finally lived up to its constitution and beliefs. America started with unjust concepts, say that a black man was property and only 3/5 of a man. Now wrongs will be righted with Obama as president. Only then will men truly be counted as equal.” Junior Brenton Curry said, “I’m more for Obama because I believe he is a man who stands for more change to better America.” Sophomore David Montgomery feels the same way. He said, “I support Obama because he is young with fresh ideas and old traditional ways aren’t working.”
Last spring, Dr. Jon Dalager of the political science department said that his Public Opinion course completed a more comprehensive survey of 51 faculty members and 247 students. Dalager said, “The results of a recent survey conducted by a political science class indicate that Obama would receive 44.5 percent of the vote compared to McCain’s 38.5 percent. If it were Clinton and McCain, Clinton would get 31.3 percent of the vote compared to McCain’s 48.4 percent. The faculty are more partisan in their approach to the presidential election.” Dalager also said, “Almost 67 percent of the faculty consider themselves Democrats, compared to only 35 percent of students. While only 7 percent of the faculty claimed to be Republican, over 44 percent of the students had Republican ties.”
The Caf Poll was not conducted as a formal survey and its results are not indicative of GC’s student body as a whole. Its purpose was only to stimulate communication among students and it was not intended to produce statistically significant data.
