Political prowess: an introduction
This is the first in a series of five stories about the issues OU students have to face today.
By Brigitta Burks, Staff Writer
April 22, 2007 | 2:50 p.m.
Although OU students are enjoying the warm weather, it’s doubtful that discussions of political controversies dominate the conversation. However, the following five articles will explore the topics of war in Iraq, abortion, gun control, the death penalty and gay marriage.
Politics? Please!
In our tiny corner of southeastern Ohio, it seems that big political issues don’t disrupt our daily lives too frequently. Based on the 2004 presidential election, voters across the United States don’t seem to care too much about electing our next president with the turnout of the voting-age population at a dismal 55.3 percent.
I’ll admit it myself: I hate politics. I have great respect for my fellow Bobcats who are political science majors, but quite frankly, I just don’t get it. However, the pesky journalist in me was curious as to what the political atmosphere of the Ohio University campus was.
The results were surprising.
In a survey of more than 60 students of various ages across campus, questions were asked on how they felt about five controversial topics. Not only did these students give me their opinion, they even went as far as to explain why they felt that way.
Most students were incredibly passionate about their opinions and didn’t hesitate to metaphorically jump all over me when I decided to play devil’s advocate. And this amazed me. I assumed, wrongly, that I wouldn’t find many people who even had an opinion on these topics, much less express such fervent opinions, but after collecting my results, I thought, “Well, why not?”
Take for example the war in Iraq. If you don’t have an opinion either way, shame on you. Money from your pockets and those of your parents is supporting this war, and men and women are dying every day for this cause. The least you could do is have an informed opinion.
These five articles will be a learning experience for me, and I hope they will be for you, too. Your fellow students are informed about what’s going on in our country, so even if you have no opinion, I hope these articles will begin to inform you on the political climate of Ohio University that you've been missing out on, as well as help you become informed of some of the hottest and most controversial issues today.