Three more weeks, two major parties and one more debate. As the presidential election speeds to a close, student interest is as strong as ever.
"Candidates have spent a lot more time reaching out to youth voters," Penn College Democrats President Rich Eisenberg said. "People are a lot more energized this time, and they have more faith that there is a difference between the candidates. I think that's going to translate [into a greater turnout] on Election Day."
And although Eisenberg, a College senior, did not offer a possible figure for the youth voter turnout this year, both Democrats and Republicans agree that more students will be voting in the upcoming election than has been usual in Pennsylvania.
"Being a swing state, ... we're getting so much attention that I don't see how we wouldn't out-perform the rest of the country," said David Copley, chairman of the Pennsylvania Federation of College Republicans. "If you're in Texas, you don't even know that there's an election going on, whereas in Pennsylvania, you can't get away from it, no matter how hard you try."
From political advertising on television to well-attended debate-watching events across the campus, students certainly seem to have been paying attention to the race.
"I'd say it's been a pretty impassioned interest," College sophomore and registered Independent Emily Cohen said.
While she acknowledged that she was unlikely to be swayed by "political gimmicks," she attributed her enthusiasm to a sentiment echoed by many other students.
"I've been following it closely because I think it's important," Cohen said.
And perhaps because of the devotion of active campus partisans, excitement over the election has escalated.
Student interest has "increased now that college students are more involved in politics," College freshman and registered Democrat Stephanie Yee said.
Other college campuses across the nation are experiencing a similar situation.
The political scene "is pretty vibrant at Johns Hopkins," said Johns Hopkins University sophomore Matt Longley, who was visiting a friend on campus over the weekend.
Longley said that events hosted at his university -- including a speech by retired four-star Gen. Wesley Clark -- were packed with students.
At Penn, neither of the two political groups has experienced a major increase in student interest in the past few weeks, but it is much stronger now than in previous years.
"People are already so excited working for the president, I don't think interest has really changed at all," Wharton senior Copley said, adding that the organization's first meeting this year was the largest in the history of the Penn group.
He notes, however, that market saturation may be an issue.
"Every other commercial is political. ... At some point, [students] kinda tune out," Copley said. "Your average student [is maybe] just a little annoyed by all the television commercials."
Yet, as the election nears, activist efforts are simultaneously gearing up.
"As we get closer, I think people are getting more interested," Eisenberg said, adding that volunteer numbers have remained "solid."
Organized deployment of these volunteers will be crucial.
"We're already figuring out where each volunteer is going to be assigned Saturday, Sunday and Monday before Election Day," Copley said, underlining efforts to mobilize 8,000 Republican students across the state.
By contrast, the College Democrats -- which number 4,000 members according to Pennsylvania Federation of College Democrats President Jill Stracko -- seem to be relying more heavily on instruction from the national campaign.
"PA Victory '04 has offices all over the state, and they're helping coordinate the students," said Stracko, a junior at St. Joseph's University. "One person writes an article on a specific issue that students can submit to their school newspapers."
"There's been much greater polarization of the students," Stracko said, adding that this was partly due to concern over the economy and the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. "There are a lot of issues that are very important to college students. ... Pennsylvanian college students pay the third highest tuition rates in the country."
