The Department of Political Science, Pi Sigma Alpha, and MPA Student Association hosted an election watch party Tuesday in the student center room 3104, kicking off with prediction activities and then a faculty panel moderated by SGA president Samantha Simmons.
“It’s great to see so many students very politically engaged,” Simmons said. “Also, I know that we bragged on the students in attendance today, but we have so many great faculty members here. We’re really excited to see what y’all have to say.”
The faculty panel, including Philip Habel, professor and department chair in the Department of Political Science, Josh Bramlett, assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Jackson Harris, a professor in the Department of Communication Studies, and Enrijeta Shino, assistant professor of political science, discussed the major issues concerning young voters in midterm elections.
“The most important issue in any election cycle is the economy. That affects the old, the young, everybody,” Shino said. “In this particular election, we are facing high inflation rates, high interest rates, high gas prices and grocery bills. I think that is on the mind of all the voters tonight.”
The student panel also identified affordability as a major issue for college students.
“I think especially for students, we’re at a very pivotal part in our life. We are here for four years, and then we’re going off into the world, starting something of ourselves,” said Will Stecker, a junior majoring in political science. “Whenever we’re considering our future, considering affordability is one of the biggest things that we see at the forefront of that.”
They also brought up the issue of political polarization.
“Especially during election years, it’s always an us versus them mentality,” said Kahyah Shabazz, a senior majoring in communication studies. “When the culture around us is constantly pulling us in separate directions, it’s easy to feed into that. I think the biggest thing with that is continuing to build those relationships across party lines. It’s okay to be strong in your beliefs, but it’s also very important to hear perspectives that are not your own.”
Civic engagement was the most emphasized topic throughout the night.
“We can’t assume that a functioning election day, as important as voting is, equals a healthy democracy,” Harris said. “We contribute to healthy or unhealthy democracy in all of the other public community choices we make on election day and every other day of the year. We can shift and make an impact on the democracy we live in at the federal level of course, but we can also have an impact on the state of democracy within the network of people that we come in contact with every day.”
Peter Baptiste, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, attended the event as a non-political science major.
“I don’t do politics for my major, but I care about politics,” Baptiste said. “Usually, I keep my political stuff to myself, so it’s good to be in a public space about it. That’s the main reason I came.”
Another attendee, Natalie Konkle, a sophomore majoring in political science, stated that she enjoyed the panels.
“I ended up coming here instead of going to another watch party because this one sounded more interesting because of the panels, live coverage and how long it was going to be,” Konkle said. “I really liked the notability on civic engagement and democracy being a lifestyle idea, and it’s not just the elections that matter to democracy.”
The night ended with continued election updates, ending at 10 p.m.
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