Few Penn students interested in local mayor election

With less than three weeks left in the Philadelphia mayoral race, the candidates are scrambling to finish their campaigning in the midst of the recent revelation of current Mayor John Street's involvement in a federal investigation.

But despite the nationwide publicity and attention to recent events, few Penn students are taking notice.

"I think the overall reaction of the campus to the campaign in general has not been very strong, in that most students don't live in the area," said Wharton and College sophomore Jennifer Bunn, who is the events coordinator for the College Democrats.

However, Bunn added that "many students are registered to vote in Philly, and most students are aware that a mayoral election is going on."

Although the majority of Penn students are not closely following the race between Street and his Republican challenger Sam Katz, the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe in which Street has admitted he is a subject has garnered some student attention.

Bunn said that she does not think that news of the ongoing investigation involving Street will negatively affect his campaign, and may even "lead [voters] to side with Street" -- which has proven a possibility by recent poll numbers.

However, many students disagree with Bunn, and think that recent events involving the mayor will have a negative impact on election day.

"Any time the FBI puts taps on any elected official, there is probably some reason behind it," Wharton senior Serge Barron said. "I would definitely expect to see some tangible results in the election based on the taps."

College freshman Terra Gearhart has been loosely following the election and definitely thinks that the recent investigation involving Street will have a negative impact on his chances of being elected.

"Usually when a big event happens close to an election, it will be in people's minds when they go to the polls," Gearhart said. "I'm not sure what people will be thinking, but they will definitely be thinking about it."

Nursing senior Caitlin Howland said she was surprised to learn that Street is currently ahead in the polls, because in her opinion, an investigation "would raise more suspicions, and people wouldn't know whether they could trust him."

Despite these predictions, the Penn population has not been attentive to the campaign as a whole, largely because students who come to Penn from all over the world do not necessarily have strong ties to the city, and may not be invested in Philadelphia politics.

Engineering freshman Nicholas Hughes lives in New York and is not registered to vote in either Pennsylvania or his home state. He said that he has not been following the election because he is too busy. Even so, he said he thinks "there has been enough information" available to students, despite his lack of interest.

Others say that although they will not be voting in the mayoral election, they are still following the race.

College junior Alfredo Gonzales is from Mexico, and despite his inability to vote in local elections, he has been "sort of" following the campaign, getting much of his information from campus news sources.

He noted that most of his American friends are registered to vote in their hometowns, and that information is available at Penn for those who want it.

"If I were voting here, I could get a lot more information than I have gotten so far," Gonzales said.

Many local students who are eligible to vote in the upcoming election say they have been more attentive to events surrounding the candidates' campaigns.

College freshman and Philadelphia native Joanna Johnston said that she thinks the election has received a lot of attention on campus.

"I think [the candidates] have done a lot to reach out to students," Johnston said, citing a recent forum held on campus as an example.

Johnston considers herself "somewhat knowledgeable" about the election, but said that on campus, the awareness level is "about 50/50 -- evenly split."

She plans to vote in the election, but noted that the majority of her friends will not because they are registered at their home addresses.

But students who live outside of Philadelphia are not the only ones who have avoided following the mayoral race.

"I've seen something about a John Katz coming, and I've seen people discussing it," said College junior Christopher Copeland, a Philadelphia resident. He has not attended any election-related events and is unsure whether he will vote.

Despite Copeland's inability to identify the mayoral candidates, he said he thinks the student body is generally aware of the election, and reaction "isn't completely non-existent."

In spite of the overall awareness but general complacency of the student body toward the campaign, Bunn said that a group of College Democrat members have volunteered, and continue to volunteer, with the Street campaign. In addition, a group of students led by Phil Katz, a part-time College of General Studies student and Sam Katz's son, are actively campaigning on his behalf.

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