Despite President Barack Obama's growing unpopularity in the U.S. and Republican victories in the midterm election, Brown students continue to support him. A recent Herald poll showed that three out of four undergraduates approve of Obama's job performance, as many as did last year.
Among those polled, 18.5 percent said they strongly approved of how Obama is handling his job and 59 percent said they somewhat approved. A total of 17.9 percent said they strongly or somewhat disapproved. Nationwide, only 45 percent of voters approve of the president's performance, according to exit polls from last week's election.
Countrywide, those between the ages of 18 and 24 made up 10 percent of the voters in 2008 — breaking for Obama by a 2–1 margin — but only 5 percent of the voters this year, according to exit polls. But this political apathy does not fully extend to Brown students, wrote Katerina Wright '11, president of the Brown Democrats, in an e-mail to the Herald.
Brown Democrats "officially registered over 250 students this semester," she wrote, estimating that about 400 Brunonians are registered to vote in Rhode Island. Brown students are "more informed, and consistent, reliable voters" and they were enthusiastic about volunteering for local campaigns, making 1,600 phone calls the night before the election, she wrote.
"Enthusiasm for inspiring Democratic candidates is clearly not a passing phase here at Brown," she added.
Sean Quigley '10, former president of the Brown Republicans and Herald opinions columnist, wrote that "as a conservative, I cheer whenever the youth vote is small" because "a nicer form of communism" characterizes most youth votes.
Quigley added that he wasn't surprised by the low youth turnout.
Max Chaiken '09, former Students for Barack Obama coordinator and Herald opinions columnist, expressed a similar view, writing that the low turnout wasn't surprising because young people vote in higher numbers during presidential elections and there was "so little to be enthusiastic about" this year.
Associate Professor of Political Science Wendy Schiller had a similar explanation, writing in an e-mail to the Herald that midterm elections always have low turnout and this election's hot-button topics did not get students' attention.
"The issues that were emphasized in the campaign, like health care, taxes and the federal deficit are not of the greatest concern to college-age voters," she wrote.
Wright identified the stimulus package and health care plan as reasons for continued support for Obama on campus. Chaiken explained that although "many progressives have been disappointed," he found it "hard to be frustrated by the bigger picture" of the administration's achievements.
Brown Republicans President Terrence George '13 wrote in an e-mail to the Herald that he understood Obama's lack of national support.
"As with most relationships, the country's infatuation with President Obama has faded with time," wrote George, a former Herald opinions columnist. "Nowhere in the past year have I seen liberal activists with half the enthusiasm of the Right."
Republican and Democratic student leaders agree that campus politics are unlikely to change because of the University's historical liberalism. George wrote that though "support for Obama is lackluster everywhere," he had not observed "an influx in card-carrying, hard-line conservatives" on campus.
Similarly, Quigley wrote that he had "little hope that there will be a shift" toward Republican candidates because the "base of both the GOP and its coalition partners is just not represented at an institution such as Brown."
By contrast, Wright wrote that Democrat David Cicilline's '83 campaign identified Brown as the "tier one of tier ones," a reliable source of both votes and volunteers.
Outside of Brown, George is optimistic about the Republican chances with the youth vote in 2012. He wrote that "passion drives politics, and with the Left's inability to galvanize its base, 2012 is going to be a good year."
Schiller wrote that the Republicans' appeal to youth would depend on the party's platform because if they cut spending on education, "that will hurt young people." But if they argue for "a more solvent federal government for the next generation," they might reach more young voters, she added.
The Herald poll was conducted Nov. 1–2 and has a 3.0 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. A total of 915 students completed the poll, which The Herald distributed as a written questionnaire in the University Mail Room in J. Walter Wilson and the Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center during the day and the Sciences Library at night.
