Students Trade Pre-Election Views on Political Issues
Sacred Heart University students voiced their opinions on a number of local, state and federal issues at the University’s “Your Vote Determines Your Future: Be the Change” colloquium in early October.
To energize students about politics and spur them to register to vote and invest in their futures, SHU President John J. Petillo assembled a committee of students last semester and developed a campaign called PioneerVote. At the colloquium, led by government professors Gary Rose and Lesley DeNardis, the PioneerVote student leaders and their peers respectfully discussed a number of topics.
“We want to educate students about the issues and stimulate voter registration,” Rose said to the crowd in the University Commons auditorium. The first topic was a local one. “This policy is aimed at you guys,” Rose told the students.
Some Bridgeport City Councilors want to pass an ordinance that would reduce the limit on the number of unrelated people who can rent a home from four people to three. If approved, the ordinance would affect SHU students who live in off-campus houses in Bridgeport with their roommates and commute to school.
Many students took the microphone to express their thoughts. Most disagreed with the policy, though others were sympathetic to the homeowners in the area.
“I can see where they’re coming from,” said one student.
Another student said she thought it was interesting that councilors went right to policy instead of talking to landlords about the issue. “I don’t like it,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like the correct way to go about it. If the neighbors were concerned, maybe they should have voiced their concerns instead of going straight to the law.”
A student who just moved into a house in a nearby Bridgeport neighborhood said he has a good relationship with his neighbors and the children who live across the street. He said he finds that renting the house enables him and his friends to transition to adulthood and learn to live in a neighborhood.
“I think there’s a small percentage of students who cause trouble,” the student said.
Carlos Ruiz, a junior and student-leader with PioneerVote, said he believes there is some resentment against students, though SHU students volunteer thousands of hours to the city. “If that’s something our city can’t recognize, I think that’s an issue,” he said. “I think the positives of what we do outweigh the negatives.”
Students also spoke about merging of public schools–many seemed unsure of this policy, but most leaned towards opposition. Charging tolls on state roads also was discussed heavily. Some students from outside Connecticut said they didn’t see the big deal, while others didn’t think another tax in the state was a good idea. One student said as long as state officials promise to use the funding for road repairs, then the tolls would be worth the expense.
The young people also had strong opinions on legalizing marijuana in the state–the majority agreed the revenue would be good for Connecticut and most thought it was “about time” for the law to be passed.
“The forum, sponsored in conjunction with the ongoing PioneerVote initiative, brought to life salient political issues currently confronting policymakers,” Rose said afterward. “By discussing these issues in a structured and moderated format, we were able to demonstrate to those students in attendance how politics and policy have direct bearing on their everyday lives. The success of this forum merits a second gathering with an additional set of issues. The PioneerVote committee has been doing a great job of raising political awareness on campus, and hopefully this will lead to higher rates of voting and political activism among the SHU student body.”