With three state primaries coming up in as many weeks, student interest in voting remains mixed.
Though nearly 200 students registered to vote in the drive that Women in Politics sponsored in Collis Center two weeks ago, many students are unaware of when their own home state primary takes place, and express a general disinterest in politics.
"I don't even know when it is -- obviously I'm clueless," said Jennifer Nistad '03, a resident of South Carolina, where the next primary takes place this Saturday.
"For sure there's [political] apathy," Scott Given '02, Director of the Bill Bradley campaign at Dartmouth, said, adding that he only became interested in politics when he came to college.
"Before I came to Dartmouth, I was completely apathetic to politics, and I think getting myself involved with the events that took place here on campus helped spur my interest to what's going on now," he said. "But I completely understand that politics isn't for everyone."
Susan Lee '03, a resident of New York, said that being a full-time student limits the amount of time she can monitor the race for the White House, however she still feels that student participation in politics is important.
Still, she said that if she cannot find the time to inform herself about the candidates' platforms before the primary, she won't vote in New York state's primary, which takes place on March 7.
Many students share her opinion, agreeing that if they cannot come to the polls with informed positions on the candidates, that they should not contribute at all.
Collin O'Mara '01, Director of the John McCain campaign on campus, said however, that it is "really easy" to follow the campaign news as a student in New Hampshire.
"We're provided with a special opportunity to see politics up close," he said, citing local news coverage and the extensive exposure to the campaign that Dartmouth students in particular have received.
"We were extremely lucky to be able to participate in the process early on," he commented, adding that "students in New Hampshire are generally extremely well-informed."
O'Mara said that he has encountered many students who are eager to know more about the political process, including how to vote in their own state primaries.
"People are saying -- I want to do more, I want to make sure that I can vote."
He estimates that about 30-40 percent of the U.S. citizens on campus will send their votes via absentee ballot to their home town voter registration centers.
Though political appetites on campus were whetted last November when major Republican and Democratic candidates debated in Moore Theater, a good proportion of students will hold off voting in state primaries and wait for the general election later this year.
Jonathan Eisenman '03, a resident of South Carolina, said though he plans to vote in the nation's general presidential election, he thinks the primaries are inconsequential.
"I don't think voting in the primaries is of dire importance -- I don't think they are a reflection of voting in later elections. My family has voted in every general election, but never any primaries," he said. "But, hey, whatever floats your boat, I guess."
In contrast to students on campus who say they don't have enough time to pay due attention to the campaign and to those who are not interested in politics at all, some Dartmouth students are emphatic about the necessity of taking part in the political process.
"I think it's important for everybody in America to take an interest in (the entire political process)," Scott Hazard '03, a resident of California, said.
"That's why we have a democracy -- for people to use it. We didn't fight for it for nothing," he said.
Offering his prediction on those students who would take part in their primaries, Given said he anticipated that students who heard McCain or Bradley speak would be more likely to participate.
"The things they're talking about resonate well with young people. They have inspired a lot of people on campus to get involved," Given said.
Students who are not residents of New Hampshire had the option, before the state's primary on February 1, to register as voters in the state.
According to Adam Greenwald '01, a resident of California, however, the price is too high. "I'd have had to give up my California residency, and for tax purposes, that's a pain."
David Levi '00 of New York registered in New Hampshire because the state's primary is sooner.
"I wanted to vote in the first primary. I felt I could make more of a difference in this state," he said, adding that his favored candidate, Bill Bradley "needed to do as well as he could in the first primaries," and cited this as one of his main reasons for registering here.
O'Mara said that one of the most important things informed students can do to educate fellow students is to notify their classmates about when the primaries are and how to obtain an absentee ballot.
"One thing I'm trying to do is to make sure that kids know exactly when they have to have a stamp on their envelope," he said.
