Most college-aged girls these days could tell you the current status of Katy Perry’s relationship, but few know much about the candidates competing for the Republican nomination. In general, college students prefer to spend the rare free time that they have doing leisurely reading, and the newspaper requires brainpower that few want to use in their downtime. Following politics doesn’t have to be a tedious task, however, so keep reading and you’ll be able to keep up with the candidates and not just the Kardashians.
Around the University of Maryland campus, some of the Grand Old Party (nickname for the Republican Party) candidates have had a big presence. Even those students who choose not to follow the election have most likely encountered the Ron Paul supporters, who had information tables outside of the South Campus dining hall, and whose prominent chalking in front of McKeldin library has most likely caught the eye of every passerby.
What about the rest of the candidates? Everyone at Maryland has different views and issues that hit home the most for them, which influences which candidate they support. Some of the most highly ranked issues of concern for Americans are the war in Afghanistan, taxation and Social Security.
Of all four candidates, only Ron Paul (R-TX) favors the idea of pulling troops out of Afghanistan within the first year of office. He believes this could help cut $1 trillion off the national debt. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Newt Gingrich (R-GA) feel strongly about keeping troops in Afghanistan, while Mitt Romney (R-MA), the current front-runner of the race, has contradicted himself. Romney in general favors keeping troops there, but made statements on different occasions that suggest a different desire.
Gingrich favors hands off government approaches to taxation, promoting lower taxes and scorning the concept of any new taxes. He believes that any new taxation will only hurt the economy instead of help to repair it. Paul also believes in lower taxes, and said that the government should only take enough money necessary to fulfill the obligations to the public that are laid out in the Constitution.
Romney favors lower taxes, while opting to get rid of estate taxes. Santorum feels that taxes such as the corporate tax rate should be cut in half, and tax incentives should be given to marriages/families that represent traditional values.
In terms of Social Security, Santorum is the only candidate who calls for immediate cuts to benefits, instead of enacting them over time. He wishes to make the limitations on who can receive Social Security a bit tougher by extending the age and income eligibility. Paul would like to end Social Security by phasing it out with a transition period in which younger people would become no longer eligible.
Gingrich would like to slightly tweak the current system by allowing people to put their money in the private market. Romney’s proposal would leave Social Security as it is; he has stated that he intends to try to save the system. He would like to eventually toughen the requirement for eligibility, but not in the immediate future.
For University of Maryland students however, the typical issues of concern tended to be abortion, the state of the economy, same-sex marriage, and the environment.
Sophomore marketing major Christina Posa names gay marriage, abortion, and environmental issues as those that she is most concerned about. She believes in pro-choice and the importance of finding renewable and alternative energy sources. “America is a good leader, and since we’re such a big country we could help enact change,” Posa said.
Similar to Posa, sophomore environmental science major and policy major Jessica Rupprecht feels strongly about pro-choice and environmental policies and favors candidates who have more moderate views. She feels strongly about the Keystone Pipeline and the idea to dissolve the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), stating that both propositions should not be enacted.
Lana Marcon, a sophomore double major in Italian and government and politics, said that her primary concern lies with the future of our economy. Being able to get a job after graduating is a typical concern of college students, especially in the state of the economy. She believes that Santorum has the ability to fix the economy, and that he best exemplifies the qualities she seeks in a president. “I think he is someone who would represent us well,” Marcon said.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/