Political Activity on ISU’s Campus

By Jessica White Campus Rep at Iowa State University Politics and Iowa seem to go together very smoothly. At Iowa State, many students get involved in politics in a variety of ways: We have Government Student Body, Student Ambassadors, and clubs for lots of issues. Obama has a bigger presence on campus than McCain does, but the majority of the protesters on campus in favor of Obama are not students here or students at all. The fact that they’re here doesn’t mean that Iowa State favors Obama. The ISU Republicans have been very active in helping Republican candidates like John McCain, Tom Latham, and various others with their campaigns. “I think the excitement behind a McCain/Palin ticket has really electrified the Republican students on campus,” said Samantha Clark, President of Iowa State Republican Club. “I chose to work for the Republican Party because I believe in the party’s general principles and feel that candidates that represent those principles should be working for us in Washington D.C.,” said Alyssa Staley, works for the Republican Party. “The activities that McCain supporters engage in involve real work for our candidates, such as making phone calls and knocking on doors,” said Cory Becker, member of the ISU Republicans. All the clubs on campus make their presence known on campus. Many clubs chalk sidewalks to announce upcoming events, and many have created Facebook groups to increase the awareness of the clubs on campus. Many students on campus volunteer for a various senators, presidential candidates, and other politicians in central Iowa. Becker said, “The majority of students who are voting in this election will hold actual jobs during the next president’s administration. This means that the tax policies and economic beliefs of the next president will greatly affect students at Iowa State. While other beliefs are also important to college students at Iowa State, I believe that this is the key issue.” “This year we’ve seen a lot of emphasis put on the state of the economy, student loans, education, National Defense and the Iraq War,” said Tyler Platt, President of ISU Democrats.  These all relate to students for obvious reasons: they will be graduating and looking for jobs. Some will be or have family in the military. They all have to be cognizant of education and how its rising cost will impact them not only while they are in school but when they join the workforce and have families of their own. “Keeping taxes low and limiting the powers of the federal government are two things that Republicans value. Conservative students look to these as ideals and see the effects on their families. As students begin to enter the job market, taxes become a large part of everyday life,” said Clark. Government Student Body Vice President Maggie Luttrell said, “Many students relate to both items, whether they can continue to go to school or not based on the economy, whether you’re from a farm background or not students care about the environment.” Republicans believe that the most important government is local, closest to the people. They believe taxes should be low so as not to cause an undue burden on families and small businesses and that less government is better government. They support social conservative issues. While there are several issues on the platform I didn’t cover just now, those that I have enumerated are the ones that are the most important to me and are the reason I am a Republican.