Adding Impact

Reminding young people to vote is getting old. Get to the polls this May.

It is an important year for voters in Pennsylvania. On Nov. 2, our state will elect a new senator, new members to the House of Representatives and, after eight years under the leadership of Gov. Edward Rendell, decide on a new governor.

In this notoriously “purple” state, it is crucial for anyone who is eligible to cast a ballot. Temple College Republicans and Temple College Democrats are planning an effort to register as many students as possible to vote, but there’s one problem: Most Temple students won’t be here for the primary elections, which are scheduled for May 18 – six days after finals exams for Spring 2010 end and students in residence halls move out.

But considering that 72.4 percent of Temple students are Pennsylvania residents, including Temple Japan, the registration drives won’t be in vain.

TUCD and TUCR should continue their efforts to register the students who will be in Philadelphia to vote, but they should put more energy into promoting election awareness. Potential voters will be more likely to vote at home if they are aware of the players in the election and their positions on the issues. Students should also know they can cast absentee ballots before they leave the city.

The gubernatorial race is important for all students regardless of state residency or political affiliation. The new governor will have the power to make decisions that affect the university – including state appropriation funding and influence in the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.

College students have more power than they think. In 2006, Gov. Rendell employed Temple students to help campaign for him, and in 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that voter turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds rose by 8 percent. The nation’s young people were passionate enough to vote for a new president and should be even more driven to elect Pennsylvania leaders.

The results of the first-ever non-voter survey conducted by the California Voter Foundation show that the biggest impediments to voting are busy schedules, a lack of confidence in candidates and confusion over absentee ballots. If student organizations want students to cast their votes, those groups should address these concerns before trying to rush students to the polls.

Voters must return from vacation for May’s gubernatorial primaries

As a plethora of candidates prepare for the upcoming primary race for Pennsylvania’s next governor, the low voter-turnout trend needs to cease.

Voter turnout for the Nov. 3 elections in Philadelphia – and at Temple – was completely and utterly disgraceful. A mere 12 percent of the city’s registered voters turned up at the polls on Election Day, as reported by WHYY the following day.

Eastern Vice President of the Pennsylvania Federation of College Democrats Elizabeth Hanson said turnout in the Philadelphia region was lower than all of Allegheny County. The senior political science major said she wanted to hold SEPTA’s strike, which began on Election Day, responsible for the low turn out.

“I would like to blame SEPTA,” Hanson said, “but I think the problem is more pervasive than that.”

Hanson isn’t the only politically active student on Main Campus who voiced concern for this year’s voter turnout. Danny Dunphy, senior political science major and president of Temple College Democrats, said he wasn’t surprised but was disappointed nonetheless.

“The people that I did talk to on campus really didn’t know too much about an election,” Dunphy said. “Even some of the professors weren’t fully aware of it.”

President of Temple College Republicans Barry Scatton blames low voter turnout at Temple on a disconnect between non-Philadelphian students and the city.

“A lot of students are from out of town, so maybe they don’t understand [Philadelphia] politics as much as they do in their own hometown,” Scatton, a senior political science major, said.

Those unfamiliar with Philadelphia or Pennsylvania politics, or those who were apathetic last month, have a chance to redeem themselves and show they’re concerned citizens who want their voices to be heard.

On May 18, 2010, Pennsylvania will hold a primary election that will determine the fate of the November 2010 general elections’ ballot.

“Rendell will not be on the ticket,” Hanson said. “His time is up, so it’s important to pay attention to the candidates and pick one who will take Pennsylvania in the direction you would like it to go in.”

There are currently five Democrats, four Republicans and one independent expected to be on the ticket in gubernatorial primaries in May.

Tom Knox, a Philadelphia businessman who lost to Michael Nutter in the 2007 mayoral elections; Jack Wagner, state auditor general, who won his seat in a landslide in 2004; Montgomery County Commissioner and former Congressman Joe Hoeffel and Scranton Mayor Chris Dougherty are those running for the Democratic Party.

Independent candidate Rich Gordon, a truck driver, ex-businessman and retired Port Authority worker, is new to the political scene but states on his campaign Web site his “obligations are to you the people of Pennsylvania, not those that have given millions to a campaign.”

“I am ready to listen to you,” the Web site reads.

On the Republican ticket is Attorney General Tom Corbett, Congressman and Ex-State Sen. Jim Gerlach, businessman and National Guard veteran Robert Allen Mansfield and State Representative Sam Rohrer.

Temple political science professor Mark Cohen, who teaches a class in American state and local politics, said the state needs someone who can diminish the impact of partisan politics.

“Pennsylvania is torn like many places in the United States that are only concerned about the party’s platform, as opposed to the needs of the citizens,” Cohen said. “Pennsylvania also needs a governor who can bridge the gap between the rural, agricultural population and the urban population.”

Cohen said neither population understands the other’s viewpoints, so a governor who can bridge the gap is a necessity. In addition to a peacemaker, Cohen said Pennsylvania “needs someone who is very fiscally savvy” to deal with the financial issues.

The deadline for voter registration is April 19. Dunphy said TCD is going to be helping people register as well as providing information on how to vote absentee or by mail, since the primary will take place several days after the Spring 2010 semester is over and underclassmen move out.

Regardless of political views, Temple students need to vote in this primary. Philadelphia residents have the ability to make or break the political arena here in Pennsylvania – but the city can only be as influential as its voters.

Joshua Fernandez can be reached at josh@temple.edu.

Ballot box chatter

Various candidates are running for positions in the court system. Local elections may not be as riveting as presidential elections, but the events of last November have revitalized the importance of voting.
Unfortunately, there are still a number of negative beliefs about voting.

“People believe that their vote doesn’t really count,” political science professor Christopher Wlezien said. “The 2000 election was a very bad experience. People are disengaged, and you have to engage them.”

Ideas like those that stemmed from the 2000 presidential election completely contradict the notion that there is strength in numbers or that together we can make a change. When hope in the political process is evaporated, there is no motivation to vote.

Lack of participation can also be traced back to a lack of understanding.

“Voters tend to be under informed,” political science professor Robert Brown said. “In Pennsylvania, there is not proper voter education. They do not know what’s going to happen when they vote, so there is no incentive.”

Without being provided the proper information on the effects of voting, citizens are simply disinterested.
Other times, lifestyles may be the determining factor, Jason Tucker, who attends the Beasley School of Law, said.

“Law students are more informed about elections and attempt to make strides,” Tucker said, “but I am busy, so it’s not a priority.”

There are approximately 1,517,550 residents of Philadelphia, and voting in a local election may have a greater impact on those residents than voting on the national level. It is important we understand the significance, impact and opportunity that a local election possesses.

Jillian Weir-Reeves can be reached at jillian.weir-reeves@temple.edu.

Riding the polls into another election year

Editor’s Note: This op-ed was a submission and does not represent the views of The Temple News, which does not have a political affliliation.

Almost a year ago today, on Nov. 4, 2008, we made history. Young people showed up to the polls in record numbers across the country and on Main Campus to elect Barack Obama and prove that we wanted change in America. Five times more Temple students voted Nov. 4, 2008 than in the presidential election in 2004.

That night, during his victory speech, our president-elect asked us to stay engaged, saying, “What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.”

Today, we have the perfect opportunity to answer this call, because today is Election Day.

Across the state, Pennsylvania residents will go to the polls today to elect judges to the state’s Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court, and in Philadelphia, we will elect our district attorney, city controller, judge of elections and inspector of elections. Just across the river, New Jersey will elect its governor.

While these races are certainly less glamorous than last year’s presidential election, they are nonetheless incredibly important. There’s a reason people say all politics is local, and these races are about as local as they get. The people elected today will make decisions that will affect our lives as Temple students and Philadelphia residents every day.

We have been defined as the Obama Generation – a generation of politically engaged, politically active young people who vote because it matters. So, today, let’s live up to this expectation. The Pennsylvania Federation of College Democrats is hosting a campaign across Pennsylvania, “Tell 3 to Tell 3 for Nov. 3,” to get the vote out for the Democratic ticket.

I encourage any student who turned out to vote for President Obama last fall to take part in this effort. And I encourage every student to vote. Think about the issues facing Philadelphia that matter to you; think about who you believe will best address these issues; and think about how lucky you are to have the right to cast your ballot today for that person to represent you – and then go vote. It’s still too important not to.

Elizabeth Hanson is the Eastern vice president of the Pennsylvania Federation of College Democrats and can be reached at elizabeth.hanson@temple.edu.

Getting Educated

Students should leave Temple educated on local government and policy.

While The Temple News encourages everyone eligible to vote in Philadelphia’s municipal elections today, we know not all of you have been doing your homework.

“Voters tend to be uniformed,” political science professor Robert Brown points out in Jillian Weir-Reeves’ “Ballot Box Chatter” on page 5. “In Pennsylvania there is not proper voter education.”

Under the two-year-old GenEd program, Temple requires students to take classes in reading and writing, mathematics, the arts, human behavior, race and diversity, U.S. society and world society.

However, under this broad curriculum, no class is solely dedicated to learning the importance of the positions voted upon in municipal elections unless students choose to pursue higher-level, not required courses in local and state politics.

We are conditioned to understand a president nominates Supreme Court justices but learn little about court systems that actually affect us, such as our state’s Supreme Court, Superior Court, Commonwealth Court, Court of Common Pleas or Municipal Court, all of which have seats open in today’s election.

It may be the voter’s responsibility to research the policies of specific candidates, but for university-educated students to graduate without being informed that the Philadelphia Municipal Court handles landlord and tenant cases, the source of so many problems for college students, is unacceptable.

We read and hear about crimes that happen daily on the streets of Philadelphia but know little about what happens afterward, when the office of the district attorney, another position up for grabs, begins to represent citizens in criminal trials.

If the university truly wants to lay foundations for students to grow upon, the GenEd program should include the political science department’s local and state politics course as an option under U.S. society.

It is bad enough if voters do not know whom they are voting for, but it becomes even worse if they do not know what they are voting for.

For some students, their time spent as undergraduates is the last time they will sit in a classroom.

If the university does not take advantage of students’ attention now, voter turnout for municipal elections will remain low, as uninformed young-adult voters grow into uninformed middle-aged voters.

TSG slates announced

Temple Student Government’s April 22 and 23 elections draw closer as three slates discuss their plans to improve Temple.
The three slates are Owl Opportunity, Temple Reloaded and Owl V.O.I.C.E.S.

OWL OPPORTUNITY
Dusha Holmes, a junior organizational leadership major, leads the Owl Opportunity slate. His slate members are Shiv Sethi, candidate for vice president of external affairs, and Colin Emilius, candidate for vice president of services.
“The past TSG slates have made very convoluted plans and only like two things get done. We plan to be a very student-focused and direct slate,” said Sethi, a junior finance major.

Owl Opportunity plans on having a transparent administration if elected. The key points in their platform address concerns with housing, safety and academics, specifically with advising, the core curriculum and career services. But their most important point is to increase campus involvement.

Opportunity hopes to address both the commuters and the on-campus residents in their active advertising campaign. They will advertise at specific transportation points to truly try and connect with the commuters. They are working with the Fox School of Business to find the best ways to reach people.

“We’re going to be more than just flyers,” Holmes said. “It’s about interpersonal communication.”
Increasing student involvement is a common theme in the three platforms.

TEMPLE RELOADED
Temple Reloaded developed a specific initiative called G.I.F.T.S. – Gaining Involvement for Temple Students – to enhance student involvement at campus activities and games. If enacted, the program will reward students for their attendance at activities. One possible reward is a full reimbursement for a semester’s worth of books.

The members of Temple Reloaded are presidential candidate Jeff Dempsey, Steve Brooks, candidate for vice president of external affairs, and Michael Thom, candidate for vice president of services.

Temple Reloaded intends to work on increasing communication among students, helping build a stronger Temple identity and advancing student services.

They also have a strong commitment to building a community with diversity.

“There are a lot of components to diversity, not just the traditional forms,” Dempsey said.

According to its Facebook group, Temple Reloaded says that diversity comes in different forms such as “religious affiliation, cultural backgrounds, campus accessibility and educational endeavors.”
“Our goal is to be receptive to all groups,” Thom said.

OWL V.O.I.C.E.S.
The principle of addressing diversity also comes up in the Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. platform.

Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. stands for Vision and Opportunity Introduce Change to Ensure Success. Nadine Mompremier, currently the vice president of student affairs, leads this slate as the presidential candidate. Her running mates are Farzad Firoz, who is the candidate for vice president of services, and Nexus Cook, the candidate for vice president of external affairs.

Owl V.O.I.C.E.S. said they are the most experienced slate. Both Mompremier and Firoz are members of the current executive board, and Cook is an active member of TSG.

“We’ve seen all the changes that past administrations having been moving toward and we want to make sure the changes go through,” Firoz said.

Some of those changes include the two new branches of TSG: the Senate and the judicial board. TSG has also rewritten their Constitution and their elections code.

V.O.I.C.E.S.’s main goal is to bring student voice back to TSG. They plan on using their diversity to reach people and increase student involvement.

“Our diversity is one our biggest points. We are the epitome of Temple. We represent the different voices,” Mompremier said.
V.O.I.C.E.S. emphasized the importance of “bridging gaps” among different students and getting more people involved. This idea has shown up in all three platforms.

Along with bring the student voice back to Temple, V.O.I.C.E.S. intends on working to increase school spirit, improve student services, make Temple a green campus and help students utilize more of Temple’s resources.

The TSG debates are scheduled for April 16 and April 21. All three slates will participate. The first debate will be in the Student Center Atrium at 4 p.m. The second will be in the Student Center, Room 200C, at 4 p.m.

All Temple students are eligible to vote in the elections.

Rebecca Hale can be reached at rebecca.hale@temple.edu.

TTN Video: Democrats’ last-ditch efforts

Barack Obama in Philadelphia, delivers speech on race at Constitution Center

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., addressed race and bigotry, crucial issues in the ongoing Democratic presidential primary of late, during a speech at a private rally in a full second floor hall of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia this morning.

“We’ve been in a racial stalemate for four years,” Obama said to a crowd of several hundred, including a throng of media.

He spoke at length of the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a former pastor of Obama’s in Chicago, who has been accused of promoting black separatism. He chastised Wright’s words, though he would not condemn the man.”These people are part of me,” he said during the 30-minute address.

“They are part of America, the country I love.”

He suggested that forgetting what Wright had done for him would be like forgetting the grandmother who raised him, a white woman whom Obama said occasionally used racial epithets and admitted fear of black men. Obama used Wright to diagnose race in the United States today, recounting 350 years of racism, but declaring we should be in pursuit of common ground.

“We do not need to recite here the injustices that have been done in this country,” he said.The crowd was full of Philadelphia Democratic Party notables, including City Councilwoman Janine L. Blackwell, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., IBEW Local Union 98 Business Manager Johnny Dougherty, who recently announced a campaign for the State Senate, former City Councilwoman Carol Ann Campbell, and U.S. Congressman Patrick Murphy, D-Pa. Many black clergy from the city were also in attendance.Obama told the invite-only crowd that his candidacy was based on a hope in solving old wounds.

“I chose to run for president in this time,” he said, “because we cannot solve the problems of our time unless we work together.”Still, he acknowledged that it would take time, that this racial divide wouldn’t be solved soon.”Not with one term, not with one candidate,” he said.

Voters in Pennsylvania, registered as either a Republican or Democrat, can vote on April 22 in party primaries. While Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. has surpassed the requisite delegate count to be effectively named the Republican nominee for next November’s presidential election, the battle between Obama and his rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., rages on. By some accounts, Pennsylvania’s 158-pledged delegates could decide who will be the Democratic nominee.

During the speech, Obama spoke of his own past and heritage, noting that he had relatives of every race on three different continents. He addressed white angst about blacks, Hispanics and other minority groups.”Anger over welfare and affirmative action built the Reagan coalition,” Obama said, speaking of the conservative base that developed during the Ronald Reagan presidency in the 1980s. He suggested he would like to reach out to these groups as well.

Obama didn’t invoke the name of Clinton once after stepping in front of the podium a few minutes before 11 a.m., but he did directly address Geraldine Ferraro, a Clinton adviser who stepped down after suggesting Obama’s success as a presidential candidate was based on his race. Ferraro was the first female to run as a major pary vice presidential candidate when she was the running mate of Walter Mondale, the unsuccessful Democratic presidential nominee in 1984.The event’s location wasn’t released to the public.

Obama began and closed his speech by describing Philadelphia’s role in the development of the United States, calling for the need of positive leaders and strong activists.”Words on parchment aren’t enough to deliver people from bondage.”

Obama’s opponent in the April 22nd Pennsylvania presidential primary, Hillary Clinton, held a rally in McGonigle Hall last week. Read a review of it in “Clinton stresses job experience at campus rally,” or hear audio and see video. Read about the next presidential debate in “Clinton comes to campus, agrees to second debate.”