Spring Break
"What Are You Voting For"
Cleopatra Wise
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
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Even after Super Tuesday, the clear front-runner is uncertain. As the democratic convention inches closer it is obvious that the Clinton versus Obama showdown has only just begun.
But what are we really voting for? Do we need a president who can influence change? Or a person with qualifications? What are their platforms, their promises? What will they do once they are in office?
These are all valid questions that need to be addressed in order to make an informed decision for which candidate to elect.
On February 4 a group of USC organizations-Save Our Selves, Political Student Assembly, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.-held a political awareness forum to discuss the presidential candidates.
The event took place the day before Super Tuesday and prompted an intense discussion.
By focusing on each candidate's platform goals, the forum was an opportunity for students to understand about complex issues such as the plan for universal health care.
The forum's facilitators, Teresa Cheng and Lindsey Woody, posed some key questions about critical issues of the 2008 election including; health care, the economy, and the war in Iraq. Surprisingly, the economy was only briefly discussed; however, when the discussion shifted toward more controversial topics such as gender and race, the discussion ignited a myriad of comments.
Many students voiced their opinions on whether or not gender and race actually played a factor in the presidential campaigns as a black man and a white woman are departures from the norm, or whether it is all media hype.
The discussion then shifted to the rhetoric of change and how change could affect the way other nations view the United States.
The forum ended with a question: "What should be the first item on the presidential agenda?" The War in Iraq was the primary response and students discussed, debated and hypothesized why they thought the next U.S. president should first address the war.
At its conclusion, attendees left the forum well-informed about the presidential candidates and prepared to participate in the Super Tuesday primaries.
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