Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: On Campus

Media Credit: Jason Boyd Arianna Loss-Cutler kisses a poster of presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Media Credit: Jason Boyd President Brown gives the opening speech for the caucus.

Media Credit: Jason Boyd Students and staff take part in the mock caucus.

Media Credit: Jason Boyd Red and blue balloons lined the pit during the event.

Eastfield held a mock political caucus on Tuesday, Feb. 26 in the 'C' building pit. It was held to inform students about the different candidates policies and encourage them to get involved in the political process.

Students and faculty hosted a booth for each candidate and handed out fliers with short explanations of the candidates' stances on issues. Knowledgeable faculty answered specific questions.

Color-coordinated pieces of paper were handed out to represent a vote for each candidate. At 1 p.m. the room split into parties and the caucus began.

Mike Gravel received a single vote and John McCain got five. Ron Paul registered 11 votes and Mike Huckabee won the mock Republican nomination with 13.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton got eight votes and Barack Obama won with 44 votes to the sound of cheers.

Many students and faculty acknowledged Iraq as the most pressing issue of the election. Jerimy Holtz, who helped coordinate the caucus, was a five-year Navy veteran in Iraq. He liked Ron Paul early, but Holtz said he voted for Obama several days before the caucus because he presented the best chance to end the war.

"I think this whole war has been mismanaged, and I'd like to see somebody bring an end to it," Holtz said. "It was sold to us under false pretences, 90 percent of the American people are against it, and it's time to bring everybody home."

Holtz considers himself a patriot before a Republican or Democrat, and encouraged students to vote for the candidate that speaks to them.

"I'm very bi-partisan; I hate this whole division," he said. "There are people here that are 18, 19 years old that aren't going to vote for a Democrat because they're Republican. They won't listen to some of the issues - and if you won't listen, you're not going to hear what you like."

Music and hospitality major John Jang has a friend who will be sent to Iraq in July, so Iraq is one of his pivotal issues. He also considers a candidate's stance on gay rights and marriage important.

"A lot of the candidates out there have kind of talked about gay marriage, but what about gay rights in general, and what are their viewpoints?" Jang said. "That's very important to me and a lot of my friends."

The health care debate also rests close to home for Jang, whose mother is a tailor and receives no company benefits. She is a Taiwanese citizen awaiting naturalization in America, so she is forced to fly to Thailand twice a year for checkups. Recently his family had other health care trouble.

"My dad recently had kidney stones, didn't even spend the night, and it ended up costing $10,000 to $20,000," Jang said. "If he had had insurance it would have been much less."

Eastfield student Ariana Loss-Cutler considers herself a liberal but also describes some of her politics as socialist. She said she has been waiting for universal health care and believes it will happen during the next president's term. Although she recognizes similarities with Clinton and Obama's health care plans, she disagrees with Clinton's means.

"They're the same in a sense that they both want it, but Hillary is requiring a mandate in which every citizen in America is required to participate," she said. "That's the government controlling aspects of your life, and it's scary."

Several students commented on being unsure or uncomfortable with the extent of Obama's Muslim childhood. However, Ariana Loss-Cutler was unconcerned by the issue.

"The great thing about America is it's not the United Christian States of America," Loss-Cutler said. "We have every religion here that you could possibly imagine, so religion is what I'm least concerned about in a candidate."

Dance instructor Kay Lynn Lyon has long been an active Clinton supporter.

"I've supported her platform since she was first lady," Lyon said. "I thought that was the way we should've gone but we didn't. Now maybe we can."

While Lyon prefers Clinton's politics, she is primarily a Democrat and is optimistic about the party's chances in November.

"I would like to think that the Democrats have it more right," Lyon said. "And I would not be disappointed if we got Obama instead. With his health care and exit strategy, I think we'd be fine."

Although a cross-section of Eastfield's students may not be the best representation of America's demographic, it is not far off. If the caucus served as any indication, Obama fans have reason for optimism and McCain supporters need to worry.

---

Contact Duncan at duncan_mcclain@netmail.dcccd.edu

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools