Class prepares students for elections

Around campus, many students are paying attention -- at least a little -- to the presidential debates and other election coverage in the media.\nBut the students in professor Gerald Wright's Y200 class are absorbed in it.\nThe class, an introduction to voting, campaigns and governing, is placing a special emphasis on the upcoming 2000 presidential election. The course offered through the political science department gives students a unique insight into the political process and equips them with the knowledge to make an educated vote.\n"We use the lens of 2000 to get a deeper understanding of what government and politics are about in this society," Wright said. "I want my students to have a deep and critical understanding of the election process."\nTo attain that understanding, the course must be somewhat strenuous. The class format allows students to discuss their views on different aspects of the election. Small group work, guest speakers, video clips and short films are also incorporated in the curriculum. While there are several assignments, exams and the requirement to keep up with what goes on in the debates and polls, many students in the class say the effort and time they expend is well worth what they are learning about politics.\n"We learn the little things, the nuances between the parties that really help clarify what each candidate stands for," said senior Denise Roe, who is a Y200 student. "I'm glad I'm taking the class. It's interesting, and it's nice to look forward to coming to a class every day."\nRoe said the class helped shape her choice for president.\n"Before this class started, I knew I was going to vote, and I thought I was going to vote for Gore," she said. "But I wrote a paper for this class on Nader and then I changed my mind. He really doesn't have a shot, but if he gets 5 percent, that will help the Green Party."\nBy getting so much exposure to the campaign coverage, students in the class learn to analyze the way politicians get their votes.\n"I am learning how much candidates influence the voters," said sophomore Christie Fortney. "They try to get votes any way they can, so it is difficult to figure out what they really stand for because they just want to win." \nFortney said the class has helped shape her views of the candidates.\n"I was very Democratic before I started this class, but I realized I didn't know enough about (how) the whole thing works," she said. "Both candidates are pretty moderate, and what we have discussed in class has really made me change the way I look at the election."\nThe class stresses the importance of being an educated voter. The aim is for each student to come away from the course equipped with enough knowledge to make a confident vote. \n"We want them to have a certain sophistication about how the election and politics work and politicians try to get their votes," said associate instructor John Summers. "It's a civil education. Students will come away from the course with a way to be good citizens and an understanding of the importance of democracy and the actual choices that we all have"