Old pros: Graduate students head back to the polls

By: Perry Robbin

Posted: 11/3/08

The novelty's gone, but voting in this election is even more important to Ben Carbonetti, a second-year graduate student studying political science, than it was when he first cast a ballot in a presidential race.

After voting in his first election in 2004, "I felt a great sense of fulfillment," Carbonetti said in an e-mail.

He was a student at the University of New Hampshire at the time, and the whole campus was caught up in election fever.

"There was talk that New Hampshire could be decided by a few thousand votes, many of which would come from college students at UNH," he said. "So there was a great incentive to vote regardless of my political affiliation."

This year, however, he is a resident of Connecticut, a solid blue state.

"It is hard to escape the knowledge that my vote is not quite as influential as it was in New Hampshire; this is a major problem with the electoral college," Carbonetti said.

Even though the magic's gone, the 2008 presidential election is even more important to Carbonetti this year in terms of its direct impact on his life. He's married now and considering having children, so the economy and health care are two major issues he is thinking about this election cycle.

"All of a sudden I have to think as a pair," Carbonetti said. "Is her job safe? Will I be able to finish school if things get bad? Will we have to move? Issues in 2004 seemed important but also abstract. The war, which struck me on a more philosophical level touched me less directly than the economy which has a much greater impact on most of my friends, family and myself."

Other graduate students on campus also report feeling a greater connection and interest with this election than previous ones.

Andrew Grubb, a second- year graduate student in medieval studies, said he is more excited for this year's election. However, Grubb also expressed concern that issues in previous elections have made him more hesitant about the results.

"The results of previous elections have made me more nervous" Grubb said.

Grubb also pointed out that he has not noticed a lot of attention from the presidential campaigns towards graduate students, saying much of the campaigns are geared toward the economy and small business owners.

"They're just students" said Grubb about the attitude of the campaigns toward grad students, even though these students will soon be entering the job market.

Grubb is not the only one who has noticed that the economic concerns have eclipsed education issues in this presidential campaign.

Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush dedicated a significant amount of their campaign discussion to education and 46 percent of Americans polled last month consider education a critical issue, according to an Associated Press story.

Erin Haddad-Null, a fourth- year graduate student in English, has always been interested in the presidential elections and says she feels somewhat more connected to this year's campaigns.

Haddad-Null said the result of the 2000 election, especially the voter fraud that occurred in Florida, has made her more pessimistic and skeptical about future election results.

"It undermined participatory democracy," Haddad-Null said about the issues with vote counting in certain Florida counties during the 2000 Presidential election.

Sarah Hampson, a first-year political science graduate student, feels more connected to the current election that to previous ones as a consequence of studying abroad while the 2004 election took place. Hampson is more optimistic about the result of this election than of those in the recent past.

Julia Blau, a graduate student in psychology, finally feels she has a candidate to vote for, instead of feeling like she has to vote against one of the candidates, as she had in previous elections.

"It's fun to get excited about politics, instead of routinely disappointed," Blau said.

Blau also said she is very connected to the coming election, visiting election information Web sites, such as www.pollster.com, often.

Damian Stephen, a graduate student in psychology, said his choice is even clearer than in previous elections. Stephen said it is important to stay connected to information about the coming election.

"What's at stake is whether or not the American presidency is a joke," Stephen said.

Associate News Editor Kate King contributed to this story.