Jen McElroy
Staff Writer
With general elections quickly approaching, there is still much for people to learn.
To help with this process, three University of La Verne professors held a symposium to discuss political issues before the elections.
This event was held March 27 in the West Dining Room.
Faculty and students filled the room to hear ULV faculty speakers Richard Gelm, Jack McElwee and Jason Neidleman speak.
The first speaker, Gelm, professor of political science and chair of the history and political science department, discussed the history of how the election process works, saying that the election process in the United States is the most difficult in the world.
He discussed how parties were created within Congress and were arranged so that certain people would be nominated and elected for president.
The bulk of his lecture dealt with what has happened in past presidential elections, and why American elections are the way they are today.
Gelm spoke in-depth about the Electoral College and how the primary system began.
Gelm summed up his portion of the symposium with background on the Democratic Party and his hypothesis for the outcome.
He shared his opinions on both Democratic candidates, Sen. Barak Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, and explained why the Democrats are trying for an early nominee.
“I enjoyed this discussion about the elections,” Gelm said. “There were several angles covered, both mechanical and structural. There were also many different issues and opinions talked about.”
Second to take the floor was McElwee, professor of business administration. McElwee shared his knowledge and opinions on presidential candidate John McCain through a detailed and informative PowerPoint presentation, entitled “The Issues.”
The core of his presentation touched on the issues that McCain has had within his campaign.
These issues included the economy, government spending, tax cut plans, health care, immigration reform and the War in Iraq.
McElwee explained that the order of importance of these issues not only varies by party, but by the stances each individual represents.
McElwee continued to list more issues such as education, the space program, lobbying, ethics reform, the environment, human dignity/sanctity, the Second Amendment rights and national heritage.
“The symposium was wonderful. I really enjoyed listening to the other people speak,” McElwee said.
Last to share his feelings and knowledge of the elections was Neidleman, professor of political science.
This part of the presentation focused on the Democratic Party’s aspects of the elections.
The main points Neidleman made were that most people will not vote for a candidate based on the issues they support, but based on their values.
Neidleman compared Obama and Clinton and the issues and values they represent.
Neidleman also elaborated on McElwee’s point of view and explained how Democrats have the same issues, but rank them differently in order of importance.
Neidleman put the economy on the top, followed by health care, anti-rationalism and the war in Iraq.
He felt the issues that have not been given as much attention were liberty, security, nuclear weapons, immigration, finance reform, same sex marriage and abortion.
“We framed it as a discussion of issues,” Neidleman said.
“This is what is secondary in most elections, and is not talked about in most news programs."
Following the presentations, students and faculty were able to ask questions. Each professor responded with important feedback to each question.
“I really enjoyed the lectures,” said senior international business major Gregory Austria.
“They were very informative and interesting, especially since they covered the elections from all sides,” Austria said.
This was a very successful event, and helped educate many students about the upcoming elections.
Jen McElroy can be reached at jmcelroy@ulv.edu. |
