The last time they saw a presidential election, most Tufts students could not vote, and all but those few super students among us were still in high school. Though some were enterprising enough to organize a group of friends to watch, most watched the 2000 election with their parents, at home, in strictly partisan company.
Now that students have the right to vote and independence from home, their approaches to election day have changed.
Senior Hilary Wentz watched the last election from the comfort of her home in the suburbs of Chicago. This time around, she will be in the company of her friends, most likely less distracted than she was the first time around.
"In high school, I did not even pay attention to the election because I was really uninterested in it, maybe because I couldn't vote and politics were never of much interest to me," Wentz said. "But this time around I feel as though these elections pertain much more to me and to people my age ... last time I didn't think it mattered one way or the other - especially directly affecting me - but now I do."
Senior Tina Vu watched the election results her senior year of high school, but her discussion was limited to classroom talks in her conservative private school. This time around, she's looking forward to watching it with her friends in their off-campus apartment.
"I think it's a lot different this time because of the atmosphere," Vu said. "In high school, we couldn't vote so I didn't really watch the pre-election stuff, like the debates."
Junior Laura Manoogian credits campus voting drives and her acquired ability to vote with her greater interest this year. "Last election, I was in high school and I couldn't vote, so I only half watched the coverage," Manoogian said. "This year, I will be voting, so I will follow the coverage more closely. I realize how a lot of the issues can affect me personally, both now and in the future; therefore, I want to make sure that the 'right man' wins."
Senior Lauren Saft remembers feeling inconvenienced by the 2000 elections more than anything else, crediting her disinterest to her inability to vote. "As long I'm going to vote, I feel the need to pay more attention to the differences between the candidates and use my vote to try to aid what I would want for the country," Saft said. "In high school, I wasn't voting, so there was nothing I could do, so I couldn't have cared less. I was pissed when they cancelled 'Dawson's Creek' for the stupid debates."
Alexandra Granato may only be miles away from her childhood home in Concord, but her company for this election will be light years away from her environment during the 2000 election. She spent the last election with her parents, "sitting on the couch with them as the results poured in."
This year, Granato will be watching in her sorority's living room with several other women. "Since [the last] election, I have developed the views of my parents, made them my own, and now will feel comfortable in a house full of members of the opposite party waiting for the results to pour in," Granato said. "I feel confident enough in where I stand politically to have branched out from the comfort of my living room, sitting with my parents, to now surrounding myself with the opposition, ready to challenge their views as well as my own."
Junior Ashley Berman will be watching the election results alongside Granato, though she finds her parents' influence to be less relevant to her today.
"While I was certainly interested in the election four years ago ... most of my opinions were formed by my parents' ideas and the ramblings of the occasional voting high school students I knew," Berman said. "This time around, I feel much more informed and invested in the outcome."
Senior Joel Wertheimer notes his greater appreciation for the power of voting to the election of 2000. As a result, he has become somewhat obsessed in following this election.
"This election is just an amplified version of the last one for me," Wertheimer said. "So, I am all consumed by it, instead of mildly consumed. I read something like 10 blogs a day about it, I look at web sites with the electoral count, and I could probably tell people who is ahead with average polls in each state."
"It matters to me even more this time," he added. "I will be watching with friends and calling my parents, calling that same friend I watched with in 2000. And I will be in the same groggy-eyed stupor the next day, hopefully this time with resolution."
Senior Lauren Ungerleider is one of the few voters less interested in the outcome of this election, having been able to vote in the last election.
"Last time, I was really involved - I stayed home from school and got to go to the polls with my mom," she said. "This time, I voted about three weeks ago, have stopped paying attention and am not really so involved."
