Tonight, I went to the first "convocation" of the semester, which was a discussion moderated by President Krislov between four Oberlin alums who are currently working as journalists covering the 2012 election. There was some pretty big names here - Peter Baker, the current White House correspondent for the New York Times and Michael Duffy, one of the executive editors/writers for TIME - and they spent several hours discussing the impact of social media on the campaign, their views on the changing journalism field, and the implications of recent events abroad on the foreign-policy area of the campaign.
I was a yearbook editor in high school, not a newspaper kid, and I made that choice based on my graphic design affinity (and not having enough time to do both). However, journalism is journalism whether it's in newsprint or glossy hardbacks, and I really wished that some of my friends from school who were also interested in the field could have come. If I, with limited experience or knowledge of the inner workings of the journalism world, enjoyed it so much, I know others would have gotten even more out of the discussion.
I found the talk fascinating, personally. Coming from a consistently Democratic state (to the irritation of much of the Eastern half), I haven't experienced elections in a swing state before. I definitely notice the change - my Hulu ads are becoming more and more politically-oriented, instead of advertising cereal or cars. When I pass by the lounge and people are watching TV, I can hear snippets of the back-and-forth ads. One of the points that was brought up tonight was the fact that no Republican has ever taken the White House without Ohio, and how vital this makes Ohio to the Romney campaign. The other topic that was discussed regarding the presidential campaign here in Ohio was the smaller percentage of currently undecided voters, meaning that more money and time is being focused on less people at the moment.
There have been several times since I've arrived on campus that I've doubted my decision to keep my Washington voter registration as an absentee voter. Honestly, the only reason I'm keeping my Washington registration is Ref. 74, "the same-sex marriage referendum" - if that issue wasn't on the ballot in my beloved home state, I would be signed up to vote out here already. Because Washington is a reliably blue state, I feel like my single vote here in the presidential race would matter more, but I'm held back by my desire to see Ref. 74 passed. Also, canceling registration in Washington involves forms that need to be signed, and that's a lot of kerfuffle to deal with when I have several papers due in the next two weeks.
In a roundabout sort of way, what I'm saying here is that I definitely observe the political interest and activism that Oberlin is famous for. I can see why this school has become such a social-justice hotbed, given its location in a swing state and notoriously liberal student body. The Oberlin Democrats are a large and vocal group on campus, whereas the campus Republican group flies below the radar (I didn't know we had one until I looked at the student organization list online. The Dems put up signs, have tables everywhere to register students to vote, and have interest meetings with food.)
Tonight, though, really encompassed a lot of what I love about this school - a fantastic organ performance by one of the Con students followed by a good deal of intellectual, interesting, and sometimes funny discourse by respected individuals, which ended with them answering questions from the student body. As I walked back to Home Sweet Dascomb, I could hear someone practicing a percussion instrument, perhaps one of the ExCos like Steel Drums or Taiko.
It was a good way to spend a Thursday evening.
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