Duke students weigh in as Election Day arrives

Students line up to vote early for the presidential election in the Old Trinity Room in the West Union Building.
Students line up to vote early for the presidential election in the Old Trinity Room in the West Union Building.

After months of campaigning, Election Day has finally come. The Chronicle spoke with students about their thoughts heading into decision day.

“I’m not voting because honestly, it doesn’t really matter who is president because if American society really wanted to affect change, then change would happen anyways. The people who you put in office are going to do what the people want to do. The civil rights movement or the feminist movement didn’t happen because of one liberal senator—it was because the nation reached a consensus.”

—sophomore Anna Quian

“Go Ralph Nader. Go Independent Party. And go the Rent Is Too Damn High party.”

—sophomore George Terziev, who voted early

“Rooting for a politician is like rooting for a sports team. Go Barack Obama. He’s cool.”

—sophomore Ray Li, who voted early

“It’s really just a no-brainer to me. The president of the U.S.A. has such a large role in my life and in the lives of nearly everyone on this planet, that not voting just isn’t an option. I would hate to dishonor the lives of all those revolutionaries who gave their lives for our independence. If I can impart just one-tenth of this enthusiasm to others and get them to the ballot boxes, then I’ve done my job.”

—senior Hamid Ali, a registered Democrat who voted early

“It’s interesting that people gather around to watch the election in similar ways that they watch basketball or football through watch parties. Interesting social commentary there. It points to the popularity of the election. The president is a celebrity, which is interesting. I’m thinking about politics in relation to the Church and just trying to figure out what the wisest way to vote is, both local and national."

—Jordan Farrell, second-year divinity student

“I’ve been very happy to see that people are doing research and making informed votes for the North Carolina candidates.”

—sophomore Adil Khan, an Independent who voted early

“Most of the polls I follow put Obama at more than an 80 percent chance of winning, so I’m fairly certain Obama will be re-elected. I’m less optimistic about the down-ballot races in North Carolina.”

-sophomore Adrienne Harreveld, co-president of Duke Democrats

“The election is going to be a real nail-biter. It will likely come down to just a few thousand voters in several crucial swing states.”

—junior Taylor Imperiale, chair of Duke College Republicans

“There will be plenty of excitement come election night, but, since this election season was largely devoid of any real debate, I can’t say I am much excited for the outcome. I expect Obama to win a second term and then continue on his policies of large government spending, destruction of civil liberties and killing of civilians overseas. But I’m rather disappointed in Romney as well, as he offers very few concrete differences in policy.”

—junior Michael Elgart, president of Duke Libertarians

“I registered on campus and early and I thought it was really good and efficient.”

—freshman Lauriane Pinto, who voted early

“Since I’m a Public Policy and Econ double major, one would think that I have strong opinions about politics, but I actually don’t lean strongly towards any side. I’ve been learning in my political analysis class and my statistics class about how we don’t have complete information on candidates’ issues, how we latch on to narratives that appeal solely to our emotions, and how numbers can be strategically framed to support either candidate. Learning all this has made me less and less opinionated when it comes to politics. Nevertheless, I did some research and voted based on a few issues that I’m most passionate about.”

—sophomore Shajuti Hossain

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