JUDGMENT DAY

Today is Election Day, but not every student feels good about it.\nSome students said they believe one vote in Indiana doesn't make a difference in the national political scheme. Sophomore Ryan Whitt, a registered voter who served in the U.S. Army as a medic for one year in Iraq, said Indiana is pretty much decided as a Republican-sponsored state; his solution: national election reform.\n"Get rid of the Electoral College," Whitt said. "I think that America has to come to the point where we are educated enough not to need the Electoral College."\nSpeaking of a politically educated student body, some students said they didn't register to vote because of laziness, lack of knowledge about issues and apathy for the political processes. Junior Brandon Brown, an unregistered voter, said voting in this election is especially important, despite his registration activity to the contrary. \n"If I was going to vote, I guess I would have a hard time deciding who to vote for," Brown said. "I saw the (registration) tables on campus saying it was my duty to vote. I said: 'Whatever, I'm just on my way to class.' I have no real reason as to why I'm not registered. I'm just lazy, I guess. I'm not into politics: I just watched parts of the debate. If I did vote, it would be an uninformed decision."\nBecause of the current political environment on Capitol Hill is discussing national policy on the topics of pre-emptive war, international coalitions, same sex-marriages and the legality of abortion, some students said they believe a two party system is mismanaging and misrepresenting democracy in the voting processes. \nSophomore Christine Jachetta, a registered voter, said she has trouble believing her vote matters at all in a demographically Republican state.\n"I don't think my vote counts, because I'm Democratic and I live in Indiana," Jachetta said. "At the same time, voting is a nice gesture. If I didn't vote, my subsequent complaining -- if my party didn't win -- wouldn't mean anything because I didn't try to change the democratic system."\nSpeaking about the war in Iraq -- which has been the scene of more than 1,000 U.S. soldier casualties and more than 100,000 Iraqi soldier and citizen casualties -- some students said the current political vision of the Middle East needs revising. Sophomore Laura Miller, a registered voter, said she would like to believe her vote in Indiana matters.\n"I guess it's hard to imagine one vote counting in Indiana," Miller said. "I feel that the war has been dealt with poorly, but I don't think the opposing party has the best solution either. I don't think anything is really clear; nothing is really clear. I like voting. My favorite part is punching the things out." \nSpeaking of the knock-out punch needed for an Election Day victory by either Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry and Republican President George W. Bush, some students are especially bothered about having to choose between two or three perceived lesser hopefuls. \n"I'm not really happy with either two (major) candidates," Whitt said. "I think, from everything I hear -- everything they say -- is just a bunch of B.S. I don't see too much of a plan from either of them. I don't think either (candidate) will make much of a difference with the economy or the war in Iraq -- there will still be attacks and bases there in four years."\nSome students believe an immediate presidential regime change is necessary to secure the future democratic principles inherent in the land of the free and the home of the brave. At least one student has a vision of the United States where she would be proud to live.\n"I'm not voting for Bush," Jachetta said. "I think Bush focuses on the short run, and he doesn't think about the long term national consequences. He hasn't looked beyond his current term. He has been very irresponsible with the trajectory of the country."\n-- Contact staff writer David A. Nosko at dnosko@indiana.edu.