Rockin’ the vote in 2004

In supporting a presidential candidate, first-year Jason Garzalooks for an honest man whose personal gain is not a part ofinternational or national policy.

Junior Janice Manion is looking for a candidate who is leastlikely to lead the nation into a war.

An informal poll of 33 SMU students found that honesty,integrity and position on foreign policy are three qualities thatstudents said they’re looking for in a presidentialcandidate.

Valerie Hunt, assistant professor in the Department of PoliticalScience, believes that young adults are more interested incandidates’ principles rather then the actual practices theytalk about.

“Principles play in the heads and the hearts of theyoung.” Hunt believes that the candidates that are going toget the votes of young adults are the candidates who can tap intoyoung people’s connections with ideals.

Thirty-six percent of students surveyed listed honesty as animportant characteristic of a candidate.

“No one likes a crook,” sophomore Brad Youngkinsaid.

Ten students were concerned about foreign policy, while ninestudents spoke of a candidate’s integrity.

There were some students who were looking for somethingdifferent. In addition to looking at a candidate’s stance onforeign policy, first-year Allison McMurry also said that acandidate’s looks are also something that will sway her vote.Sophomore Stephanie Gschwendtner said that she will most likelyvote for the same candidate her parents vote for.

Sophomore Max Joseph uses his own criteria for choosing acandidate.

“I put my candidates to the three B’s test. No. 1 -brains; No. 2 – bravery; No. 3 – big brass balls … the latter isthe most important,” Joseph said.

Other attributes that were mentioned often were acandidate’s position on individual rights, communicationskills and his stance on education and abortion.

Some students said they didn’t care or didn’t knowenough to care.

“Sometimes I think that I really don’t even have aright to vote. I mean, I do have the right to have a say in mycountry, but the fact that I don’t try to be well-informedleaves me basing my decision upon ideals that are labeledconservative or liberal,” Gladstone said. “Thecandidates may not even hold the exact ideals that match theselabels but because of my apathy towards the elections, my opinionis merely based upon them.”

Professor Hunt thinks that the votes of young adults are veryimportant and it is important that students all take advantage oftheir voting right.

“Voting is the ‘jewel in the crown’ ofdemocratic rights,” Hunt said.