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By Dave Pond, Web Communication

Election Day is right around the corner, and NC State’s campus is buzzing with anticipation. For months, students have organized, mobilized and fraternized with their classmates in support of one candidate or another, working hard to promote specific causes, while at other times crossing the aisle to join others in successful on-campus debates and bipartisan voter-registration efforts.

North Carolina has become a key battleground state as Barack Obama and John McCain vie for the U.S. presidency, but we’ve also seen spirited competition for the state’s governorship as well as a seat in the U.S. Senate. As NC State students prepare to cast their ballots, we wanted to get a feel for what’s on their mind and talk about not only the candidates, but also the key issues and concerns facing college students in 2008.

In the week leading up to Election Day, we polled three student activists – NC State College Republicans chair Ches McDowell, College Libertarians treasurer Eli Harman and Brett Little of Students for Barack Obama – to hear their opinions on a wide range of topics. In addition, Dr. Andrew Taylor – professor and chair of political science at NC State and a renowned expert in political campaigns – was gracious enough to round out our discussion. Dr. Taylor, Eli, Ches and Brett were asked an identical series of questions – in no particular order – and their responses were unedited save for syntax, topical relevance and/or brevity.

Little

McDowell

Harman

Taylor

Feel free to start with any question on the list below – you’ll have the opportunity to cycle through all of the questions and responses, or return “home” to this page, from any of the links. Should you need it, we’ve also added a voter-registration link at the bottom of each page. Please note: The views, opinions and endorsements expressed by roundtable participants are solely their own and in no way reflect any official policy or position of NC State University.

• In what ways do campus political groups help engage students in the political process? How are they beneficial? Should they even exist?
• What does it mean to you to participate in one of NC State’s student political organization during a presidential election year?
• How, if at all, has this election affected what you do in your role(s) at NC State?
• At what age did you begin to take a strong interest in politics, and what does it all mean to you?
• As a college student, do you share the same passion for those elections taking place on the local and state level?
• What is the biggest real-world issue currently facing college students today?
• Talk a little about this election season – regardless of which party claims the presidency, there will be a history-making candidate who wins office at either the presidential or vice presidential level. Is that something that’s being overblown, or not stressed enough, and why?
• Talk about the positives that the candidate(s) of your choice will bring to office, should they be elected.
• If you could change one thing about the campaign / election season, what would it be?
• In talking with students on campus, do you feel that the current registration rules and processes encourage students to vote or make it more difficult for students to cast their ballots?