After a dismal turnout during last year’s elections in Thornden Park, the polls are returning to the Schine Student Center for the upcoming presidential election.

As a result of a joint effort between the New York Public Interest Research Group, the Student Association and the Office of Government and Community Relations, organizers are hoping the move will encourage students to register to vote, follow the elections and act on their political beliefs come November.

‘It’s a shame that students aren’t taking advantage of the vote, and we hope the return of a polling site to Schine will help that,’ said Andrew Lederman, president of SA. ‘It’s the lesser of two evils at this point, but I will be voting.’

Yesterday marked the beginning of a campaign by NYPIRG to ensure student registration through an on-campus voter drive.

‘Students are poised to register other students to vote in an extended voter registration campaign,’ said Tim Marvin, project coordinator for NYPIRG. ‘Politicians realize that students are organized in a collective voting bloc on campus, and represent a fairly powerful group of voters. The Common Council, in moving the voting site back to Schine, shows that they want students involved.’

When the polling site was moved to Thornden Park during the last round of elections, worries about safety and easy access became major concerns for students. Accordingly, voting turnout in the ward from SU fell sharply, by almost half, according to Marvin.

‘We were happy to work with Councilor Miner and NYPIRG to move the polling location back to the Schine Student Center,’ said Karen Ventrone, relations specialist for SU’s Office of Government and Community Relations. ‘Our students expressed concerns about the former locations, and we responded accordingly.’

To accommodate the switch back to campus, parking will be made available for voters behind Bird Library on Election Day.

‘I would’ve never gone out of my way to go register to vote,’ said Veasna Tan, a senior psychology major, as she finished filling out her voter registration card at Thursday’s voter drive in Schine. ‘I care, but I’m just too busy.’

Tan, however, said students should focus on the national elections, and those that directly affect them.

‘We go to this school, but we’re mostly isolated,’ she said. ‘I don’t think we know enough to vote around here.’

Joshua Kohn, a sophomore history major, praised NYPIRG’s voter registration drive.

‘If there are people around trying to get students registered, it’ll help get their opinion out,’ Kohn said, noting that the return of the polls to Schine would encourage a higher turnout. ‘I didn’t even know where the polls were – If I had to go somewhere else, I don’t have a car, so I might not go.’

Published on September 2, 2004 at 12:00 pm