The elections yesterday left a sour taste in the mouths of several USF students. With what appears to be a very low voting turnout amongst students, the opinion seems to be unanimous; this election was not handled constructively (although turnout amongst young people was higher than the 2006 Florida midterm election).
Several students around campus admitted to not casting their votes yesterday for a number of reasons. Even though there were four voting polls set up on the USF Tampa campus, many students said that they couldn’t vote because they were still registered back in their hometowns. Others said that they just had no interest because they don’t see much being done about the current issues in our state and country.
Alesa Commedore, a 22-year-old, senior, said she was over the catastrophe that seems to be today’s politics.
“I’m tired of hearing about these politicians. The only reason why I voted was because I really wanted to avoid having someone I didn’t like in office. I feel like you shouldn’t complain about this country if you don’t do your part and vote on Election Day,” said Commedore.
Unlike Commedore, several students felt that they just could not muster up the enthusiasm to care.
“I think campaigning is a big joke,” said Clayton Cullaton, a 22-year-old, junior. Cullaton said he felt that all the money spent on the campaigns were expenses we could ill afford.
Many students felt the campaigning of various candidates was more akin to a brawl between clicks in a high school, than a professional political campaign.
“I felt like the commercials and advertisements were weak from every party. None of them provided me with useful information. The candidates were more concerned with bashing each other than sharing their own ideas,” said Tony Allen, a 23-year-old, senior.
But not all students felt negatively about the campaign.
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2010.