If you are a student journalist or aspiring politician, Ohio and Texas are the places to be. Catie Coleman wrote in a column for the Ohio University at Athens campus newspaper: “With all the visits and press coverage, it feels like OU is at the center of the universe.”
Coleman describes herself as politically minded, yet she writes that she feels overwhelmed— her campus has already received separate visits from Michelle Obama and Bill and Chelsea Clinton. And if she receives one more campaign flyer, she’s “going to scream.”
Coleman’s campus newspaper, the Post, has run dozens of news articles, columns, editorials, informational alerts and letters to the editor about the campaign and Tuesday primary, in which democratic voters in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont choose their presidential candidate. Political analysts have predicted that if Hillary Clinton does not do well in Ohio and Texas, her campaign is over. Even if she has enough delegates to keep plugging away, she needs decisive wins to pacify Democrats who are eager to have a party nominee decided. Likewise, Obama wants to crush Clinton in these two big states to clinch the nomination.
The student media have therefore had plenty of campus visits to write about and student interest to keep them motivated. The Post’s endorsement of Barack Obama is the second most viewed article on their website this week, out-viewed only by a breaking news story on the band Arcade Fire playing two upcoming shows.
The articles and columns cover everything from Clinton’s “win at all costs” campaign tactics to campaigns using the Internet to lure the youth vote. Most of the pieces discuss minute policy details on health care, the environment and the Iraq war, revealing that these students have done their homework.
Over in Columbus, Ohio, the Ohio State University newspaper the Lantern has a “Lantern guide to voting,” complete with how to find your polling place and what constitutes valid ID.
Articles describe rallies at the campus for Obama, including one in which Obama appeared and reiterated his promise to give college students a $4,000 tuition credit each year they are in school.
Two columns in the Lantern discuss John McCain. Sophomore Kevin Jackson says McCain will unify the country. “Should either of them [Obama or Clinton] be elected, I can guarantee the partisan bickering that so epitomizes Washington now would continue for another term.” Whereas, junior Matt Struhar argues McCain is a flip-flopper who exhibits “overconfidence in the use of military power abroad.”
The top two stories at the University of Texas at Austin school paper, the Daily Texan, also concern the campaign. These discuss Mike Huckabee playing his bass guitar in front of a rally of students (yep, he’s still running), and a detailed description of John McCain’s trade policies that he discussed at a campaign stop at Dell Inc.
Texas A&M University newspaper, the Battalion, put Huckabee’s guitar-playing appearance on the front page.
Until tomorrow’s over, these students are getting all of the attention and the best journalism and politics training you can ask for: the real thing.
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Photo Credit: Jonny Green, the Battalion
Tags: march 4, ohio, students, texas, youth vote