Spring Break
Fighting apathy with 'Drexel Votes 2008'
William Mulgrew
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: Ed-Op
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Administrators hope the upcoming Democratic presidential debate at Drexel on Oct. 30 will spark more political interest in students. "Drexel Votes 2008," a campus-wide election project spearheaded by Hagerty Library, IRT and the Office of University Relations plans to capitalize on student excitement.
The last time the Republican and Democratic primaries simultaneously lacked an incumbent president or vice president front-runner was 1920. The next president could literally be anyone. However, the non-partisan election project faces historical hurdles.
Drexel University, sadly, has a highly apathetic student body, especially when it comes to politics. Because the fall term begins so late in September, Drexel students are left with a three-week window to register to vote before the 30-day deadline. This includes Columbus Day holiday weekend. While students are free to canvass the surrounding community, "soliciting" inside dorms is against University rules.
The dominant political force on campus is not Republican or Democrat; conservative or liberal, but apathy. Over the past five years, the University hosted former President Bill Clinton, former Gov. Tom Ridge, Sen. Arlen Specter, and former Sens. Rick Santorum and Paul Sarbanes, among others. Last term, Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Nutter spoke to students at a Great Works Symposium on "The Next Philadelphia." Will high-profiled speakers awake students from their apathy? Speakers come and go. Understanding why the University can't keep long-term student involvement in politics should be seen as a phenomenon with a long history.
The Vietnam War era provides lessons on how apathetic students were in light of the fact that the draft wasn't ended until 1973. Although Drexel students overwhelming favored Republicans in mock elections as late as 1966, 1970 saw the culmination of the anti-war movement. Drexel students organized a large sit-in against the Vietnam War in the winter of 1970 and continued anti-war protests well into the spring. Over the summer, students protested the firing of a popular humanities instructor, the Student Program Board hosted Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., (who authored the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age to 18), and the Student Congress and Faculty Council supported a measure that would give students a pre-election holiday in order to campaign for candidates. At the same time, a non-partisan voter education club called the Political Action Coalition organized. It advertised repeatedly in The Triangle during the summer, asking for student volunteers to help plan a fall program that would include voter registration drives, "Political Action Week," and student-candidate meetings.
The last time the Republican and Democratic primaries simultaneously lacked an incumbent president or vice president front-runner was 1920. The next president could literally be anyone. However, the non-partisan election project faces historical hurdles.
Drexel University, sadly, has a highly apathetic student body, especially when it comes to politics. Because the fall term begins so late in September, Drexel students are left with a three-week window to register to vote before the 30-day deadline. This includes Columbus Day holiday weekend. While students are free to canvass the surrounding community, "soliciting" inside dorms is against University rules.
The dominant political force on campus is not Republican or Democrat; conservative or liberal, but apathy. Over the past five years, the University hosted former President Bill Clinton, former Gov. Tom Ridge, Sen. Arlen Specter, and former Sens. Rick Santorum and Paul Sarbanes, among others. Last term, Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Nutter spoke to students at a Great Works Symposium on "The Next Philadelphia." Will high-profiled speakers awake students from their apathy? Speakers come and go. Understanding why the University can't keep long-term student involvement in politics should be seen as a phenomenon with a long history.
The Vietnam War era provides lessons on how apathetic students were in light of the fact that the draft wasn't ended until 1973. Although Drexel students overwhelming favored Republicans in mock elections as late as 1966, 1970 saw the culmination of the anti-war movement. Drexel students organized a large sit-in against the Vietnam War in the winter of 1970 and continued anti-war protests well into the spring. Over the summer, students protested the firing of a popular humanities instructor, the Student Program Board hosted Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., (who authored the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age to 18), and the Student Congress and Faculty Council supported a measure that would give students a pre-election holiday in order to campaign for candidates. At the same time, a non-partisan voter education club called the Political Action Coalition organized. It advertised repeatedly in The Triangle during the summer, asking for student volunteers to help plan a fall program that would include voter registration drives, "Political Action Week," and student-candidate meetings.
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