Politics
By Elizabeth Tertadian
UP students have a lot going on. Between academics, clubs, cheering on the sports teams and hanging out with friends, there isn't much room for politics.
"We are so locked up in our schedules," senior Greg Machado said "We don't leave time for anything else."
Pilots just don't seem to be as interested in politics as much as University of Oregon or other large colleges.
According to a poll done by The Beacon via the Pilots Portal, the majority of students identified themselves as center-left on the political spectrum, based on results as of Monday.
Thirty-six percent of Pilots identified themselves as center-left on the political spectrum and 24 percent labeled themselves as center-right. 18 percent fell directly in the center, while 15 percent were on the far left, and the remaining 7 percent were on the far right.
The poll was unscientific. There were 365 respondents.
"I feel like people here don't take the time to explore new political ideas," freshman Zach Muth said. A libertarian, Muth wishes UP was more open to active political discussion and ideas.
Machado agrees. "There is a huge lack of political thought and discussion on this campus," he said.
"I'm too busy with school to think about politics," sophomore Monica McAllister said.
Unconcerned with politics, McAllister doesn't know exactly where she stands politically, and this doesn't bother her. Although she is a registered Democrat and has voted Democrat in the past, she doesn't see herself as strictly Democrat. Rather, she is in the middle, and ambivalent about politics.
"It's not part of my field," she said.
Alternatively, sophomore Pat Sheridan is a proud Democrat, and member of the College Democrats club on campus. He believes in economic regulations by the state, public health care and social safety nets, but opposes government intervention in private affairs.
"I don't think the government has the right to regulate anything that has to do with people's personal lives," Sheridan said.
Why are UP students silent when it comes to politics?
Students questioned for this article speculated on several reasons and contributing factors, including being a small, private university, being a primarily white, upper-class student body, and simply being wrapped up in all the other aspects of life, and letting politics fall to the wayside.
"We are not as active or concerned, and I don't know why," junior Elizabeth Vogel said.
"We're not as successful as you'd think, considering we're a college campus in an active area," said junior Rosie Cullen, a member of College Democrats.
"We are stuck in a bubble," Machado said. "People are afraid to speak their minds."
"Many things compete for our time and attention," Gary Malecha, chairman of the political science department, said. He believes that student interest in politics often goes unnoticed, because they don't notice all the events going on around them.
Malecha added that students are more inclined to become politically active when issues affect them directly. Examples are the current health care debate, which was the focus of a student-initiated series of forums last semester.
Otherwise, political issues go unnoticed because other things take precedence, such as the commons food, or athletics or homework.
