Vol. XXXVI, No. 4
President Bush has lost substan-
tial ground on campus with voters
citing their dissatisfaction with the
‘war in Iraq and the economy, accord-
ing to the final Lion's Eye poll of
Penn State Delaware County stu-
dents and faculty before today's elec-
tion.
Almost two-thirds of respondents,
64.6 percent, support Democratic
Sen. John Kerry, giving President
Bush, the Republican, 24.6 percent
of the vote.
Less than 4 percent of those
polled to Libertarian candidate
Michael Badnarik.
The Lion’s Eye poll was an unsci-
entific survey conducted on campus.
Kerry faces significant competi-
tion in the next few hours with close
to 40 percent of respondents believ-
ing that the Bush administration
will remain in the White House for
another four years.
Although both candidates have
tailored their arguments following
the presidential debates, it appears
that neither has completely put to
rest the voting public's concern over
national security.
"IT don't believe we are free from
terrorist attacks and I have little
faith that Kerry would be as pro-
active as Bush has been in the event
of another domestic terrorist attack,"
said student Mark
le. Cooke.
. But about 58 per-
cent of respondents
‘believe Kerry has
Penn State University, Delaware County
November 2, 2004
Which candidate do you support to become President?
7.70%
24.60%
the
abil-
ity to
better
protect
our nation
from another
terrorist attack,
while 32 percent
say they feel safer with Bush and
believe him to be more qualified.
That's a problem on campus for
Bush compounded by the fact that 69
percent of respondents believe the
situation in Iraq would be better
handled by Kerry.
Particularly problematic for
President Bush is the rising senti-
ment against the Iraqi conflict, with
nearly 74 percent of respondents
saying they do not agree with the
war. Findings published in a Lion's
Eye survey last February had 64 per-
cent of students disagreeing with the
justification the United States used
Kerry
[Bush
CONader
OBadnarik
[ENo Response
to
invade
Iraq.
"Bush
should have not
gone into the war
alone," says Shameer
Douglas, student.
Results of this poll also suggest
disapproval of the administration's
stance toward education in the
United States. Roughly 5 percent of
those polled expressed education as
a top voting issue, but only 20 per-
cent believe Bush has an educational
plan superior to Kerry's.
"The issue that most affects col-
lege kids today is tuition assistance,"
said Kevin Krauss, student govern-
ment president. "Kerry plans on giv-
ing every family who has a child in
college a $4,000 tax credit for each
year he or she is enrolled. According
AT PENN STATE DELCO ...
t's a Kerry landslide
Lion’s Eye poll gives challenger wide campus support
By ANYA TAKOS
Lion’s Eye staff writer
AAT128@psu.edu
to George Bush's 2000 tax plan,
which President Bush still supports,
financial aid will be cut from the fed-
eral level. I can't afford that.”
According to the survey, Kerry is
the preferred candidate regarding
the issue of education among Penn
State Delco students and faculty
receiving the support of 69 percent of
respondents.
While a majority of respondents
believe the Democrats to be running
a more credible campaign, the gap
between the two parties begins to
close with 30.8 percent of respon-
dents giving the thumbs up on credi-
bility to the Republican-lead cam-
paign and 58.5 percent to the
Democrats. :
There is a lack of consensus
among students and faculty who
agree with neither Bush nor Kerry
on the ethical issues of abortion and
capital punishment. While 20 per-
cent of respondents agree with
Bush's moral agenda, over 35 per-
cent do not approve of Kerry's or
Bush's stance on such issues.
However, the issue of a constitu-
tional ban on gay marriage is prov-
ing to be somewhat of a pivotal issue
with 56.9 percent of respondents
agreeing with Kerry's position
against a constitutional ban, and
24.6 percent agreeing with Bush's
position for a constitutional ban.
Although 10.8 percent of respon-
dents believe that the nation has not
been significantly divided as a result
of the election, 30.8 percent believe
it has been somewhat polarized, and
53.8 percent believe it has become
drastically polarized between
Democratic and Republican ideals.
Student Profile
How Buddhism helped
transform Robert Hyers
Page 3
INSIDE
Class of the Month......................... Page 2
Penn State Day..........c.ccessreiinnneeee. Page 3
Crossword .........ccceosmenrcssssnnnnsssanenn. Page 4
Entertainment....................euueeee.... Page 5
Editorial............ccocscmmnnnririinsnnnncnnnenn. Paget
Basketball previews........................ Page 7 |
THON Halloween Dance................... Page 7 |
Baseball..................ccceevvrrrriiinnnnnn. Page 8 |