Election Day is one week away and Ohio University students share concerns over the election and impending results.
Griffin Luebke, a freshman studying film, pointed to his concerns centering around the electoral college system.
“With an electoral college system, I don’t really feel like the election is in our hands,” Luebke said. “It’s in the hands of undecided voters in Pennsylvania.”
There is a growing concern among students that no matter their civic engagement, other places across the country will have a greater means of deciding the final count. Those who just entered college face the task of voting. knowing their decisions will impact the next four years.
“Elections dictate the next four years, and it’s going to be my college years,” Lindsey Acker, a freshman studying film, said.
While students generally have these concerns, some signs indicate encouragement on campus.
Kalli Langdon, a freshman studying film, said she has been seeing groups on campus that encourage students to vote.
“They just want you to at least get involved and take an interest in politics,” she said. “I think that’s very important.”
OU’s recent event, the Absen-Tea Party occurred Oct. 21 and Oct. 23 and fielded questions from students and faculty about how their absentee ballot could best be completed in the 2024 election.
OU has made attempts to encourage students to vote. The university’s Center for Community Engagement offers students resources for registering to vote and voting by mail.
As the election draws nearer, student organizations campaign and voice their support for political representatives. Acker said she has seen students and locals demonstrating their political opinions around campus, especially with flags and yard signs. Acker believes these initiatives are due to students realizing their actions as voters affect their futures.
“I feel like this is going to have a really big impact on the culture and the energy (of the country), and obviously, on the actual government,” Langdon said. “I’m pretty nervous.”
For students on nearby campuses, the stakes remain just as high.
“(The election represents) a big difference between finally having a chance at equality or a Handmaid’s Tale,” Elizabeth Catalan, a student at Columbus State Community College, said.
Catalan holds personal thoughts on the election candidates.
“With being an immigrant, it affects me a lot knowing the things that the former president has said about people from my country,” Catalan said. “It’s just difficult.”
In a highly contentious election, students see a stark difference between the two major parties. Luebke worried people have concerned themselves with trivial matters compared to climate change, inflation and wealth disparities.
One of the most common emotions students described was feeling nervous. Luebke described a moment that made him especially nervous during fall break.
Students are not the only ones recognizing the vocal nature of OU student organizations and initiatives.
He recalled a moment when a dad picked up his daughter and the first thing he said to her was, “‘How does it feel to get off that woke-a-- campus?’”
