On campus political groups give students forum
Michael Culpepper
With election time right around the corner, many are wondering whether or not the surge of college voters that helped the current president into office will once again show its face.
Kyle Bollinger, currently attending ASU, believes that the last election was, “more of a fad than anything.”
She stated that many of these individuals may be uninformed.
“Backpack politico buffs that helped Obama into office last election probably don’t even have any idea of who is running for office, let alone have opinions on them.”
However, students such as Jack Gannon of MCC believe that the political interest that appeared in the 2008 election never left.
“We see examples of political interest among youth all the time,” Gannon said. “I mean, look at all the political groups on campus. If there wasn’t a genuine interest on the part of students, such clubs and groups wouldn’t exist.”
While the relative level of student political interest is up for debate, MCC does have a number of political outlets in the way of on-campus groups and clubs.
MCC Democrat and Republican clubs, along with MCC’s branch of the Black Student Union, better known as the B.S.U., are some of the known groups.
Not only are there groups that focus on the issue of ethnic and racial affairs, but both religious and sexual as well.
Other individuals stated they believe that the student interest in on-campus politics never left, but that it is in fact growing.
Dr. Kenneth Atwater, the former president of South Mountain Community College and current president of Hillsborough Community College in Florida, stated he is more excited than ever about this growth in the amount of student political interests on college campuses.
“Ever since the Obama election, student interest in politics has been at an all-time high,” Atwater said.
He stated that there are several issues that help maintain student interest in politics.
“Whether you want to look at recent issues such as the immigration debate or healthcare, there is more of an interest than ever. And with communication now on such an easily accessible level, I only expect this interest to grow,” Atwater said.
