By Daniel Camacho
Unigo Campus Rep for NYU
The long awaited presidential election between Republican candidate John McCain and Democrat, Barack Obama, is heating up the political climate at NYU. Some students are choosing sides based on the issues, while others are taking a more independent stance and not deciding whom to vote for until Election Day.
About the political climate at NYU, NYU’s students, many of who are politically liberal like most residents of the Greenwich Village neighborhood where the school is located, are being active followers for whatever candidate being supported.
A walk through Washington Square Park shows an array of banners, posters and pamphlets supporting Obama, and criticizing McCain.
“I enjoy walking through the park on my way to class, it sort of reassures me there is a lot of support out there for Obama,” said Steph Berland, a freshman English and psychology double major.
Obama held a rally in Washington Square Park on September 27th, 2007 and managed to snag the vote of many undecided voters during the Democratic primaries.
Many of those supporters still follow Obama’s lead and are now anticipating a win for the presidency. Vincent Morello, a sophomore psychology and philosophy double major is very supportive of the Democratic candidate.
“I like Obama, he’s young, fresh and I believe that is what this country needs right now, especially while the economy is falling into shambles,” he said.
Some of the more independent voters watched the debates and agreed and disagreed with both candidates’ policies.
Alexander Lobascio, a sophomore computer science and economic theory double major, said “they both said a lot of flawed things, but I found more issues with the fundamental beliefs behind the republican statements versus the more implementation-related issues of the democrats.” Lobascio was referencing to the Republican’s promise to lower the supposedly high taxes and the Democrat’s call to spend more and tax less.
Sophomore music composition major Matthew Marsh said, “I would rather not pick favorites now and actually listen to what each candidate has to say.” During the presidential and vice presidential debates, Marsh was often on the fence with what each side had to say. Marsh said he has a tiny bias toward Obama, but still considers voting for McCain.
In line with the political climate at NYU, Republican students at NYU are almost a rarity and some often feel discriminated against for their political affiliation. Sophomore finance major, Kenneth Chen, is a Republican Party supporter, but said he has “lost hope for the Republicans during this election. Especially at NYU where supporting McCain can get you ostracized believe it or not.”
The strong favoritism for Obama is quite apparent, especially through the eyes of the school’s tiny right-wing affiliates.
The university’s ultimate goal for the 2008 presidential election is getting more students registered and involved in the political scene, no matter what candidate students are aligning with during the 2008 presidential election.
Registration drives throughout the school and dormitories have helped create hundreds of new potential voters.
“I registered to vote through the school a few days ago, and I am very excited to vote for the first time,” said Marsh, after receiving his registration ticket.