Californians confront chronic state decisions

By Matt Rupel

On Nov. 2, the United States will hold midterm elections for offices in the House of Representatives as well as seats in the Senate and the gubernatorial offices for 37 states.

The state of California is voting on a governor and senator as well as several propositions, including the legalization of marijuana and a proposition that would determine environmental rules for the state.

Typically, voters in the college student age range are not known for high voter turnout. This is especially true for midterm elections that do not decide a presidential outcome.

In a study by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagements, it was found that the total youth voter turnout reached 51 percent in the 2008 presidential election, while the midterm election in 2006 only gathered a youth voter turnout of 26 percent.

"There's not nearly the level of enthusiasm or excitement that there was in 2008, which is pretty typical," said Dr. Jim Cottrill of the political science department. "Presidential years are always more exciting and attract more attention than midterm years." Cottrill also said that many students, who tend to have liberal political ideologies, may feel disheartened by the current state of politics.

"I think there's a lot of disillusionment because I think the president's campaign built a lot of hopes up that there would be a lot of change and substantial progress on a lot of major issues, and I think a lot of people­ - especially young people that supported him-- are a little discouraged at the rate of progress and they feel that not enough has been done," said Cottrill.

According to studies by Gallup, a polling organization that finds national political opinions and predicts election outcomes, a major shift in party control can be expected from this election.

This shift in opinion has the potential to bring substantial change to the current political environment. Senior Margaret Stockbridge, the president of the Republican Club, said that this election provides a chance to have their voice heard, where before they may have been discouraged from voting.

"Nobody likes to lose," she said. Now is the time, Stockbridge says, for the conservative students to make their voices heard.

"This election will set the tone, and that will impact your life if you plan to stay in California and make a life here," she said.

One issue that conservative voters in California have to think about is Proposition 23. "It's really important that Prop. 23 gets passed," said Stockbridge. The ballot initiative would suspend a law- AB 32 that would require California corporations to reduce air emissions until unemployment in the state fell below 5.5 percent.

The Green Club at Santa Clara, however, campaigned against the proposition on last Wednesday during the Sustainability Fair between Benson and the Learning Commons.

Senior Michelle Tang, co-president of the Green Club, said that proposition was the work of two oil companies from Texas to protect their own assets. According to Tang, unemployment in California has rarely fallen below 5.5 percent in the last ten years, and Proposition 23 would actually destroy a lot of jobs in the clean-tech fields.

"Engineering is really big here, especially civil engineering. A lot of clean-tech jobs will be coming out of the school for our students, and this will affect their jobs in the future by reducing the potential for those jobs," said Tang.

Also on the ballot is Proposition 19, a ballot initiative to legalize the use, sale and cultivation of marijuana in California. A recent poll by the Los Angeles Times found that younger voters were more likely to support the measure.

This could potentially make a difference to college students in California, who may be more likely to use marijuana than older generations. Cottrill said that this measure has the potential to attract more young voters.

"I suspect it's an issue that younger voters may be interested in," he said.

According to Cottrill, everyone who can vote should vote. "Ultimately, the only way to change things is to participate. Staying home is just going to signal that you don't care. It's a much more potent gesture to do a write-in for 'none of the above.' Not voting indicates apathy, it indicates that you'd rather have somebody make decisions for you."

Contact Matt Rupel at mrupel@scu.edu or (408) 554-4546.