Revision: Election Interviews

LIBERAL ARTS AND OLD FARTS





KALAMAZOO, Mich. – It’s election time on a liberal arts campus in a historically blue state, yet Kalamazoo College’s opinion on the presidential race strays from an entirely leftist view.
“It’s ridiculous how you can find the presidential candidates in gossip magazines and tabloids,” Munchie-Mart employee Colleen C. Paul said. The 23-year old Kalamazoo native will be voting for Ralph Nader. “I know he’s been on the ballot for about 80 years, but hey, what have we got to lose? Paul has no affiliation other than “the common sense party.”
Paul’s manager, Henrik S. Ljung, nods his head in joking agreement. Ljung, 24, is undecided and has no party affiliation. He admits it has been tiring hearing about the presidential race, but hasn’t seen the media ripping on the candidates yet. “It’s the longest presidential election I’ve ever seen and the media has been pretty kind, which is surprising.” Ljung predicts the election will be an extremely close call, but assumes Obama will be the one coming home to the White House in January.

Kalamazoo College student Harrison S. Vogel, 19, has no party affiliation and is voting for Bob Barr. “I tend to swing towards a libertarian stance when it comes to politics,” Vogel said.
While Ljung, Vogel, and Paul remain moderately conservative in addressing questions regarding the election, some of the students at Kalamazoo College possess a different voice – one that shouts much louder.
First-year college student Liviy M. Pope’s voice is thunderous enough to stand up for the entirety of the Democratic Party. “I’m definitely liberal!” Pope exclaimed. Pope, from State College, Pennsylvania, will be voting for the Obama and Biden team, in the hopes that they will change the world’s perception of America. “We need a good foreign policy. We don’t have any friends in the world because of George W. Bush,” Pope said, grimacing.
Others agree with Pope’s anti-Republican sentiments. “A big, big reason I’m voting for Obama is because I really don’t like McCain,” student and 19 year-old democrat Anna F. Witte said. The Grand Rapids native expresses her distaste for the war, calling it depressing and unfair. “The army just called and they want me. I said “hell, no!” I’m wearing a sweater that says Make Peace!”
Make peace, make war, or make no solid assessment of the presidential race at all, street-residers of Kalamazoo run the gamut of political party stances. November 4 is sure to bring about a clashing of personal political interests.