Most students will not vote, says survey

In a random survey of 60 University of Arizona students, 85 percent said they do not plan to vote today.

Tom Volgy, a UA political science professor and Democratic U.S. House of Representatives candidate, said students historically have not crowded the polls.

"UA's turnout has never been good," Volgy said, adding that while about 40 percent of the general population votes, the number is even lower for UA students.

Volgy and Celestino Fernandez, a UA sociology professor and Tucson Unified School District governing board candidate, said their affiliation with the university will "most likely" bring in more votes. They said student participation and activism are important aspects of their campaigns.

"That direct student-to-student contact is very important," Volgy said.

Many students, however, said they had little knowledge of who is up for election.

"I didn't know any UA professors were running," said Ryan Brotman, a sculpture and creative writing sophomore.

The Associated Students tried to bolster election activism with the Students Are Voting Everywhere program by setting up a booth once a week on the UA Mall with registration and absentee ballot forms.

More than 1,400 students registered to vote with SAVE since last spring, said Kelly Dalton, an ASUA Arizona Students' Association director.

"We were out advocating and talking to people," said Dalton, a political science sophomore. "When you're in college, you're busy so a lot of students don't take the initiative."

In addition to SAVE, ASUA has printed a guide that was distributed to residence halls explaining the propositions before the Legislature and also sponsored several forums at which candidates discussed their platforms.

Despite ASUA's attempts to muster interest in voting, students still showed a lack of enthusiasm for the right denied to most people around the world.

"I'm not informed of these things," said Madhuri Devi, a pre-pharmacy junior, who added that she did not know about today's elections.

Several students attributed the lack of involvement to their ignorance about the issues.

"You should only vote if you have enough information," said Jaime Highberger, a chemistry graduate student. Highberger said she does not plan to vote.

Students said dis-appointment with the candidates deters some of them from going to the polls.

"I don't like any of the candidates," said Joshua Levine, a fine arts junior. "I have a defeatist attitude."

Several students agreed with Levine, saying they thought their votes would not make a difference.

"If they (students) are frustrated with politics, they need to get out and vote for people who can change things," Dalton said.

Despite the apathy dis-played by some students, others said they will vote in today's elections.

"It's a responsibility everyone has," Brotman said. "We have the power to change things."

Several were surprised by the lack of student turnout in the past.

"I thought everybody wanted to vote," said Jason Fox, an architecture freshman, who added that he intends to vote.

Gloria Copeland, a Tucson Unified School District governing board candidate, said she encourages students to vote.

"I don't care who they vote for, I just care that they vote," she said.

Stephanie Corns can be reached via e-mail at Stephanie.Corns@wildcat.arizona.edu.