Course syllabi emphasize elections

The presidential election crept into every facet of University life over the past week -- from President Clinton's campus visit to Ross Perot's inciting speech. Even University faculty got in on the action, dedicating precious class time to election discussions -- with some shaping their fall curriculums around the big day. Political Science Professor Marissa Martino Golden held her "Transitions of American Politics" seminar at New Deck Tavern Wednesday, as she discussed the election outcome with her class over nachos. She also made a point of incorporating the presidential election into lectures for her "Introduction to American Politics" class. Although the election allowed for timely examples of the theories taught in her class, Golden noted that it created difficulties in sticking with the syllabus. Communications Professor Joseph Cappella also incorporated examples pertaining to the election in his course, although he did not choose to center his class around it. "We talked about advertisements, and we talked a little about focus groups and how they work," Cappella said. He added that the candidates' messages and control of public opinion leading up the election was especially relevant to communication theory. Political Science Professor Jack Nagel said his "Political Participation" class revolved primarily around the election. "I devoted more attention to voting and elections than we usually do," Nagel said. "We've had a lot of discussion relevant to the election." Nagel added that after his class analyzed the election in depth on election day, he was particularly dismayed to learn that many students could not vote due to registration problems. Political Science Professor Ian Lustick urged his students to get out and vote this semester. "There is a discussion in political science over whether it's rational to vote since one vote probably won't have an impact on an election," Lustick said. But he cited the Jon Fox-Joe Hoeffel 13th Congressional District race -- decided by 10 votes -- as evidence that one vote does indeed matter. While Nagel and Golden considered many of their students politically active, Political Science Professor Alvin Rubinstein said he thinks there is a "very low-key level of political activism" at the University. Rubinstein added that while a few students sought him out to discuss the election, he was disappointed at his students' over-all lack of political enthusiasm. Nagel said that on the whole, his students paid "serious attention" to the election but were not thrilled with their choices for president. "There aren't many elections when you get someone you feel 100 percent for," Nagel added.