This year’s results from Super Tuesday revealed a stark contrast between the political ideals of UCLA students and those of their state.
Only 29 percent of UCLA students voting on the Democratic ballot supported Sen. Hillary Clinton according to exit polls, whereas 52 percent of California Democratic-ballot voters chose her as the Democratic presidential nominee. This earned her a sizable chunk of California’s Democratic National Convention delegates, who are awarded according to the percentage of the popular vote per district won by each candidate.
Conversely, 71 percent of surveyed students voting on the Democratic ballot wanted Sen. Barack Obama on the presidential ballot, while only 42.3 percent of Democratic-ballot-voting Californians agreed.
“I think the disparity has to do with demographics. Hillary is stronger among Latinos and women. Obama is stronger among younger voters,” said Kyle Kleckner, president of Bruin Democrats.
Talal Hamdan, a third-year political science student, saw the discrepancy between the voting trends of UCLA students and the state as a matter of education level and information.
“We don’t represent the majority of Californians because we represent a higher level of sophistication. UCLA is just a more informed group of people,” Hamdan said.
He added that he believes Obama’s stance on foreign policy is what makes the senator so popular within academic circles.
Jacqueline Ragnarsson, a second-year neuroscience student who said she supports Obama, attributed his popularity at UCLA to the youth of students.
“It’s because we have such a younger demographic,” Ragnarsson said.
Melanie Simangan, a second-year comparative literature student, agreed that youth and charisma played a large role in Obama’s popularity at UCLA.
“I think people are just attracted by his youth. He’s got the Kennedy factor, and people think of him as a beacon of hope,” Simangan said.
Despite the overwhelming statistical leanings of UCLA students toward Obama, Simangan said she did not believe that meant Obama had better qualifications.
She said she believed the student support for Obama might have more to do with “bandwagon mentality” than with his stance on the issues.
“It seemed like Obama was everywhere,” Simangan said of the signs and posters that lined Bruin Walk in the days preceding the election.
“People see all the rallies for Obama and assume he’s the better candidate. People based their opinions on superficial things rather than the issues,” Simangan said.
Some students continue to hope that Obama can still win the Democratic nomination, despite Clinton’s continual strong showings.
“All the large states are spoken for, which really sets the tone, but I think there’s still hope,” Hamdan said.
If Clinton does wind up as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, the 71 percent of voters at UCLA who supported Obama will have to decide where their vote will go.
With Sen. John McCain maintaining a steady lead in the Republican primaries, some students realize they may be faced with a difficult choice.
Ragnarsson said she supports Obama for president, but if he doesn’t make it onto the ballot, then she will begin considering Republican candidates despite her liberal leanings.
“McCain is a good guy and a strong candidate, but I just don’t agree with all of his policies,” Ragnarsson said.
Hesitant to give up hope on Obama, Hamdan said he may decline to vote at all if Clinton wins the Democratic nomination.
“Clinton’s way too fiscally liberal for me, and her health plan is out of control,” he said.
Kleckner, however, hopes that both students and Democrats in general will unite behind whomever the Democratic Party nominates.
“I think most UCLA students who support Obama, and those who support Clinton for that matter, would support the other in the general election,” he said.