Obama wins: Students React

November 12, 2012

By: Melissa Wells

After months of campaigning, attack ads, bickering, and endless polling, President Obama has been elected to have four more years to serve the United States.

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, Barack Obama reached 270 electoral votes that were needed to defeat his challenger, Republican Mitt Romney. The developments came as the size of Mr. Obama’s election victory became clearer. He won no sweeping mandate in the popular vote, carrying about 50 percent to Mitt Romney’s 48 percent. The Associated Press tally showed the president with more that 60,367,000 votes, to about 57,573,000 for Mitt Romney. Regardless of how, President Barack Obama is here to stay and he has the White House for four more years.

Just as many college students did, Ohio University students rallied around televisions and computer screens to watch history on Tuesday evening. The students in Athens react to Obama’s win and many have mixed feelings. Leah Hourihan, a Journalism major in her third year, has doubts about what the next four year holds with Mr. Obama in office.

“Obama is still promising what he promised four years ago,” said Hourihan. “Why are we giving him another chance, nothing will change,” said Hourihan.

Other students had a different opinion about Mr.Obama’s second chance in office. A Speech Pathology major also in her third year, Morgan Dewey, thinks the president needs the extra time.

“It takes longer than four years to put national changes into effect, he needs four more years,” Dewey said.

There are many other students on Ohio University’s campus that were unsure of whom to vote for. Junior Nursing major, Katherine Becher, hopes the best for America’s future.

“I just hope America made the right decision in this election,” Becher said.

Christopher Glynn, a Sports Management and Accounting major in his third year, feels as though who the country elects as president doesn’t directly always matter when looking towards the future.

“No political candidate can decide your future if you work hard,” said Glynn. “If you develop your skills and talents, no president will affect your success,” said Glynn.

Decline in Youth Voters

November 5, 2012

By: Camille Rose Smith

  As one of the leading research facilities in the nation, The Pew Research Center is able to expose what voters are really thinking.

As one of the most heated Presidential elections to date, many are wondering if young people still have the spunk that they had four years ago when President Obama was first voted into office. College kids, specifically, were out in full force, voting for change and the beginning of a new era.

In 2008, youth engagement dramatically increased due to many young voters identifying as Democrat. With President Obama, also a Democrat, pulling out the win, young people showed that they can have a serious impact on who runs our nation.

Released Sept. 28, 2012, a new Pew Research showed that youth between the ages of 18 and 29 are less engaged in this year’s primary election than in previous years. Youth engagement has taken a sharp downturn since 2008, dropping nearly 14 percent.

The Pew Research Center measured youth engagement using three different aspects of involvement. Two topics they explored inluded the number of people that gave a lot of thought to the election and how closely were people, youth specifically, following campaign news this year. In both cases, they saw a dismal drop of 17 percent in youth voters between the ages of 18 and 29 between 2008 and 2012.

The last question they asked was how many people definitely plan to vote this year. Yet again, they saw a decrease in youth voters, with the determined to vote dropping from 72 percent in 2008 to 63 percent in 2012.

According to the study, there was an additional decrease in youth voters who planed to vote, reporting that only 63 percent plan to vote in this year’s election compared to the 73 percent in 2008.

Needless to say, youth voters know that they can make a difference in an election of any kind, and the only way to get their point across – and to elect the person that they think is right for the job – is to vote. So get out there on Nov. 6 and utilize your right to vote.

Election outcome becomes unpredictable

November 4, 2012

By: Charles Dornfeld

Reporter

As the Nov. 6 election draws near, national polls show the presidential candidates running in a dead heat, with the outcome likely to be determined by Ohio and a few other swing states.

The now-completed series of debates between President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney went back and forth like a heated boxing match, with neither candidate landing a knockout punch.

After the debates, countless campaign appearances and hundreds of millions of dollars in political advertising, Obama and Romney each have the support of about 47 percent of the electorate. That’s according to an average of the latest national polls compiled by Real Clear Politics, a website that tracks polling data.

Political analysts list Ohio among eight to 10 swing states that will likely determine the outcome of the election. Ohio has helped pick every presidential winner since 1960, and no Republican has ever been elected president without carrying Ohio.

Not surprisingly, Ohio has been a frequent stop for the presidential candidates and their running mates as they have crisscrossed the nation, touching down in swing states such as Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.

Ohioans have also been the target of a barrage of political ads. According to an NBC News study, the two campaigns have spent a total of $181 million on political ads in Ohio, more money than in other state.

With less than two weeks left before the election, it appears that the Obama campaign has used its advertising money effectively. Nate Silver, a New York Times political analyst and numbers cruncher, believes Obama has a 71 percent chance of carrying Ohio and winning the election with 290 electoral votes.

Other experts are not making any bold predictions. Real Clear Politics currently shows Obama with a 201-191 edge over Romney in electoral votes, with 146 votes still up for grabs. To win, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes.

In contrast, Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, projects Obama leading Romney 267-235 in electoral votes, with 36 toss-ups. Each of these analysts base their projections on poll data, but use different criteria in determining whether or not a state is firmly in any candidate’s column.

While Ohio has been the focus of considerable attention, it has not always been the deciding factor in presidential elections. As many remember, the 2000 election was won by George W. Bush with a disputed victory in Florida.

Florida could be close again this year. A New York Times analysis shows Romney leading in Florida in the latest polls by an average of 1.7 percentage points. In 2000, a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision resolved the outcome of the Florida election, giving Bush a slender 271-267 victory over Al Gore in electoral votes.

Some analysts suggest that we may not know the definitive outcome of the 2012 presidential election when we wake up on Nov. 7.

President Obama ousts Romney in final debate

October 25, 2012

By: Charles Dornfeld

Reporter

President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney sparred on foreign policy issues, but found time to take jabs at one another on the economy during Tuesday nights debate.

The final debate of the 2012 presidential campaign, held in the battleground state of Florida, gave the voters one last chance to size up the candidates before the Nov. 6 general election.

Obama’s greater expertise in foreign affairs was apparent while debating Romney, who has relatively little background in this area. At one point, Obama tried to link his opponent to the “wrong and reckless policies” of the Bush-Cheney administration.

“Your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map and is not designed to keep Americans safe,” Obama said.

Obama also touted his foreign policy accomplishments, including killing Osama Bin Laden and ”decimating” the leadership of Al-Qaida, ousting Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi, ending the U.S. war in Iraq and imposing “crippling” economic sanctions against Iran in an effort to deter its nuclear ambitions.

Despite Obama’s accusations, Romney was able to remain calm and poised while deflecting Obama’s charges. Several times Romney told Obama that he was still speaking while fending off the President’s interruptions.

Romney frequently seemed to echo and endorse the incumbent’s approach on issues ranging from Afghanistan to Iran.

However, Romney asserted that the U.S. has been forced to lead from a position of weakness because of Obama’s unsuccessful economic policies and that we have seen “a rising tide of chaos” around the world during the last four years.

Obama responded that Romney’s economic plan would only increase the U.S. budget deficit, saying “the math doesn’t add up.” Obama also brought up Romney’s opposition to the U.S. auto bailout, which helped save jobs in battleground states such as Michigan and Ohio.

Following the debate, a CNN poll found that 48 percent of viewers thought Obama won, compared with 40 percent for Romney. A group of Ohio University students who watched the debate at Stocker Center appeared to lean in favor for Obama.

The OU audience often reacted agreeably to the President’s comments. Significant laughter and Twitter traffic occurred after Obama’s retort to Romney’s attacks on what he portrayed as the dwindling number of ships in the U.S. naval fleet.

“Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military’s changed,” Obama said.

Some undecided students had a clear choice following the debate.

However, freshman photojournalism student Michael Pronzato is an undecided voter who seemed little swayed by the debate.

“Debates go off topic and candidates don’t answer questions,” he said.

Journalism 1010: The Future of Media

October 13, 2012

By: Camille Rose Smith

The first seven weeks of the semester are officially over, and midterms are underway. The freshmen journalism majors are all abuzz with midterm fever, because they must read over 90 articles for Journalism 1010: The Future of Media. I took to the halls of James Residence Hall, the home of the Communications learning community, to find out some of their thoughts on their very first journalism class here at Scripps, and what they had to say about Dr. Stewart.

Emily Hartsel, a Journalism: News and Information major, said that she enjoys Journalism 1010, but that she wishes it could be more personal. Many students would like to get to know Dr. Stewart better.

“It’s overwhelming to have so many students in there,” Hartsel said.

There are 239 Journalism majors in a crowded lecture hall. When everyone shows up, there aren’t even enough seats for everyone to be in there.

The main focus of this class is guest speakers. Every Tuesday and Thursday at noon, the students wait to listen to another diverse speaker. Some are alumni of Scripps, others just have a connection to Scripps, or just like to speak to future journalists. Many of the freshmen have varying opinions on whether they like listening to the speakers or not.

Meryl Gottlieb, also a Journalism: News and Information major, says that she enjoys listening to “different professionals giving us advice” for our future careers, but she also believes that it’s a “hit or miss” situation. “It depends on the speaker. Some speakers are relevant to students, where as others may bore us to tears,” says Gottlieb.

As for communication in this class, the main correspondence between Dr. Stewart and the students is Twitter. With it being a future of media class, this only makes sense that students would be forced to use social media on a regular basis. Both Gottlieb and Hartsel agreed that it is convenient to just hop on Twitter and find out what you have to read or when there is extra credit, but even though it works for this class, Gottlieb said, “it shouldn’t be the sole way to convey knowledge” in every class. We are still in college, and we must learn in other ways.

That’s what the students had to say so far. There are obviously differences in opinions thus far, but there is an overall general liking for how Journalism 1010 works. Dr. Stewart continues to do great work, and keep future journalists thirsting for knowledge. We wish them luck with the rest of their semester and the rest of Journalism 1010.

Carr Van Anda Program stays at Scripps

October 8, 2012

By: Elizabeth Harris

Reporter

Due to the change from quarters to semesters this year, many students are skeptical about whether or not the Carr Van Anda Program would remain at Scripps.

Director of the school, Professor Robert Stewart, said the school was not sure if it were going to keep the Carr Van Anda because the tracks under semesters allow more flexibility. But, in the end, Scripps decided to keep the program.

Overall, the Carr Van Anda Program allows students to create their own journalism sequence. Students in the program take the seven core journalism courses in addition to a sequence of journalism courses to add up to at least 25 credit hours.

Students interested in the Car Van Anda Program must be juniors with at least a 3.0 accumulative GPA to apply. Students must also have approval from their advisor and the director of the school in order to pursue a Carr Van Anda. A formal application is required.

Although less than ten students currently participate in the Carr Van Anda Program, Professor Stewart said he has always been an advocate for it. He believes it is extremely beneficial especially for students who have dual majors, such as  those studying journalism and visual communication.

This past year’s top graduating senior for the Carr Van Anda Program, Sarah Holt, said in a short video on YouTube, “Specifically out of the Carr Van Anda I got the opportunity to make my own major, to pick and choose things that I’m interested in, and to formulate my own way in journalism. And it was so much fun, and it was really interesting and I found a career that I can make using different things I chose. So, I think it was a real freedom through the Carr Van Anda Program to tailor-make my own experience at the Jschool.”

Holt blended broadcast classes as well as public relations for her Car Van Anda. The top graduating senior in the 2010 program was Bethany Williams, who knew she wanted to do something with film and journalism. Therefore, she chose to focus on documentary filmmaking. She took classes such as audio production, photography and personal documentary.

The program is named after a man of the name Carr Van Anda. Van Anda entered Ohio University at age sixteen in 1880 and attended for two years. He went on to have an extremely impressive journalism career which included working at several publications. In 1904, he stated his renowned 21 year career at the New York Times, at which he served as managing editor. He passed away in 1945.

In 1968, Ohio University established the Carr Van Anda Award for the highest distinction in journalism in his honor. It recognized students who repeatedly achieve high journalistic standards.