Hope for today's youth?

[lukpac]

Poll: Kerry leads Bush among students

Harvard poll suggests 48 percent for Kerry, 38 percent for Bush

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- College students favor Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry over President Bush by a 10-point margin and have become substantially more dissatisfied with Bush over the past six months, according to a poll released Thursday.

The survey by Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP) comes amid increasing focus on the nation's youngest voters.

Kerry this week launched a national tour of college campuses, "Change Starts with U," on which he's joined by rock stars and fellow politicians.

The Bush campaign says it has long been active on college campuses and has recruited tens of thousands of student volunteers.

The Harvard poll of 1,205 college students, conducted March 13-23, found Kerry leading Bush 48 percent to 38 percent, with independent Ralph Nader drawing 5 percent. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

The poll suggests "Kerry's support is soft," however, because many who say they'd vote for him simply want an alternative to Bush, the IOP said in a news release.

Thirty-seven percent of students said they don't know enough about the senator from Massachusetts to have formed an opinion about him.

Since a survey by the same organization in October, Bush's job approval rating plummeted 14 points, from 61 percent to 47 percent, while support for the war in Iraq dropped from 58 percent to 49 percent, the poll found.

Some recent signs of economic recovery have failed to give Bush a boost on one key topic: two-thirds of students polled said they believe it will be difficult to find a job after graduation, a figure nearly identical to the October poll.

"Concern over the war in Iraq and weakness in the job market has caught up with President Bush," IOP Director Dan Glickman said in the news release.

"College students now share the general public's more mixed view of the president, and Senator Kerry is benefiting from that shift. Still, these are highly independent voters who are open to persuasion and it would be in the interests of both parties to court them aggressively."

The poll also found that unlike in the general population, the majority of college students surveyed -- 57 percent -- support legalizing same-sex marriage.

The survey used a new method "for assessing the political ideology of America's college students," the IOP said. A combination of 11 different questions determined that "the old 'liberal' and 'conservative' labels do not fit more than half of today's college students, who are mostly centrists and highly independent."

The largest number, 41 percent, identified themselves as independent.

The survey found that fewer now identify as Republicans -- 24 percent, down from 31 percent in the fall. Democrat identification increased from 27 percent to 32 percent.

Sixty-two percent of respondents said they will "definitely" vote in November, while 21 percent said they "probably" will vote.

The potential impact of college students' votes is unclear.

Young Americans vote at a rate far below that of the general population, numerous studies have shown.

In 2000, overall voter turnout was 50 percent, among those 18 to 24 it was only 29 percent, according to the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, a nonpartisan group that studies voting patterns.

Still, college students vote more often than noncollege students of the same age.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, which is based at the University of Maryland and tracks youth voting patterns, said in a study that "18 to 25 year olds with college experience are nearly twice as likely as noncollege youth to vote."

Various studies have shown a trend of fewer and fewer college students voting since the early 1970's. But nonpartisan groups have launched intense efforts to increase turnout for this election, and are hoping that 2004 will be the year that trend is broken.

[Patrick M]

Kerry this week launched a national tour of college campuses, "Change Starts with U," on which he's joined by rock stars and fellow politicians.

Rock stars. Is there anything they don't know?

I don't see why more college students don't support Bush. Most of them like to get drunk and goof off, right?

[lukpac]

Then again...I'm not sure if I should laugh or go crazy at:

"Kerry is a hypocritical guy who overstated what he did in the Vietnam War. Bush has his faults but overall he'd be a better president."

*Kerry* overstated what he did during Vietnam?

A&M cadets staunchly conservative
By Sonia Moghe
Special to CNN

Editor's Note: Campus Vibe is a feature that provides student perspectives on the 2004 election from selected colleges across the United States. This week's contributor is Sonia Moghe, an assistant editor at The Battalion, the student newspaper at Texas A&M University. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of CNN, its affiliates or Texas A&M University.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (CNN) -- Most members of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets say they support the war in Iraq and are likely to vote for George Bush in the upcoming presidential election.

"I believe [the Corps is] strongly Republican and a majority of the people are in support of the current president because he is the commander-in-chief," said senior Justin Woods, public relations officer for the Corps.

Texas A&M Corps is the largest military uniformed body of students in the nation, aside from U.S. service academies, with about 2,000 members, Woods said.

The Corps aims to teach leadership within the framework of a military organization and produces more officers for the Armed Forces than any other Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. It is one of a few schools that offer military commissions in all branches of service.

Senior Corps member Michael Hernandez says the reason cadets tend to support the war is that they can empathize with soldiers.

"[Being in the Corps] lets you understand the sacrifices that people have made for this country," Hernandez said. "You hear stories about guys that go to the military from the A&M Corps of Cadets -- it makes me want to be like that."

Senior Chris Schock, a student at A&M who is not in the Corps, says going to school with students commissioned in the military can be upsetting.

"It can be a little disheartening and frightening knowing that whenever [a student] enters the military service there's a chance they might die," Schock said. "It's very respectable that they have made that commitment to our country."

Former classmate dies in Iraq
A former Corps member, Doyle Hufstedler, class of 2001, recently died in Iraq, leaving behind his pregnant wife.

"We're always taught to take care of our soldiers -- [Doyle] was just out there leading his guys," Hernandez said. "I really do feel proud to say I knew that guy."

Not all members of the Corps are Republicans -- freshman Mary Formaneck is one of a few Democratic members.

"Being a Democrat is a rarity in the Corps, according to my experiences," Formaneck said. "I don't talk about politics because I always get shot down."

Formaneck supports the war, for the most part, because of her desire to be in the military someday and because of her experiences in the Corps.

A&M junior Mickey Rigoulot, however, says his time spent in the Corps and his feelings about the war do not influence who he votes for in the election -- he's more interested in character.

"Kerry is a hypocritical guy who overstated what he did in the Vietnam War," Rigoulot said. "Bush has his faults but overall he'd be a better president."

Schock feels that many students in the Corps support Bush simply because he is their commander-in-chief and not because they truly believe in his actions.

"A lot of [Corps members] have been very conservative and seem [to] almost blindly follow the military actions that we have taken in Iraq from a military standpoint," Schock said.

The presence of former President George H. W. Bush on the A&M campus, along with his support for the Corps, is another reason why senior Reba Villanueva is leaning towards voting for George W. Bush in November. (Full story)

"[Bush Sr.] is very involved in the school and [the Corps]," Villanueva said. "What we're taught in the Corps is love for your country, your families and your neighbors -- camaraderie."

[Patrick M]

*Kerry* overstated what he did during Vietnam?

[Rspaight]

It is kind of pathetic, isn't it?

"I don't think Kerry was wounded badly enough to merit three Purple Hearts. I blame Kerry for that, even though it was the Navy and not Kerry who decided to award them. I also think there was a vast government conspiracy to award an undeserving Kerry the Silver Star. And there's something fishy about his Bronze Star.

"Furthermore, since I clearly believe valorous military service is important in a President, I'm going to support George Bush, who dodged the draft with help from his father's connections, lost his TANG flight status for unknown reasons, and didn't show up for Guard duty for months at a time."

I sure hope the wingnuts do some warm-up stretching before assuming that position. One could get hurt.

Ryan

[Xenu]

I suppose I "support" Kerry, but only by default; I really don't like him very much.

[lukpac]

I never said I *liked* Kerry. I simply support much more of what he stands for than Bush.

The presidency isn't - no, *shouldn't be* - a popularity contest. Which it is, unfortunately. Witness Bush over Gore (well, kind of) in 2000.

I saw a bumper sticker I liked today - "Defeat Bush again in 2004"