{"id":194572,"date":"2016-11-04T09:44:55","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T13:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=194572"},"modified":"2016-11-04T09:46:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T13:46:05","slug":"american-elections-class-zeroes-in-on-clinton-trump-matchup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/american-elections-class-zeroes-in-on-clinton-trump-matchup\/","title":{"rendered":"American Elections class zeroes in on Clinton, Trump matchup"},"content":{"rendered":"
As a freshman, Skylar Cerbone \u201920 normally wouldn\u2019t take Lynda Powell\u2019s intermediate undergraduate course, American Elections, this fall. But Cerbone didn\u2019t want to wait.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a presidential election year,\u201d the political science major from Buffalo says. \u201cI had to take this class now. It\u2019s too important not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cerbone received permission from Powell, professor of political science, to take the course, and is one of 50 students who meet Tuesdays and Thursdays in Hutchison Hall to learn about the election process at the state, congressional, and presidential levels, and how election rules affect the choices candidates make.<\/p>\nJose Fernandez \u201919 listens to political science professor Lynda Powell during his American Elections class. Fernandez is a self-described “political junkie,” as his laptop demonstrates. (University photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cI want my students to apply the theoretical material from the course to gain a better understanding of this year\u2019s elections and future elections,\u201d Powell says. \u201cWhile a few will go on to graduate school in political science and teach at the college level, and a small number will work in politics, I hope all of them will be engaged in the political process as voters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Powell has taught at the University since 1982. Her most recent book, The Influence of Campaign Contributions on State Legislatures<\/em> (University of Michigan Press), was awarded the American Political Science Association\u2019s 2013 Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Prize for the best book on legislative politics, and the 2014 Virginia Gray Prize for the best book on state politics and policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a distinguished professor,\u201d says Jose Fernandez \u201919, a double major in political science and history. \u201cI took the class in large part because I wanted to get her take on this election.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernandez is a self-described \u201cpolitical junkie\u201d. He attended a Long Island high school that was 90 percent Hispanic and says, \u201cRepublicans shouldn\u2019t even entertain the idea of getting the Hispanic vote unless they address immigration reform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students in Powell\u2019s class read scholarly articles, as well as print and online news, and apply insights from the reading, as well as their own, to the 2016 elections.<\/p>\n
On a Thursday in October, the topic turns to the Electoral College. Students learn about swing states, pivotal states, and the magic number 270, the minimum number of electoral votes required to clinch the election.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re also taught about \u201cfaithless electors,” members of the Electoral College who don\u2019t vote as they are pledged to vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been 157 faithless electors in America\u2019s history,\u201d Powell tells the class, \u201cbut none have altered the outcome of an election.\u201d<\/p>\nEnuma Okafor ’18 participates in class discussion. Professor Lynda Powell encourage students to read widely and apply their own insights to the 2016 elections. (University photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Andrew Mekhail \u201920 will be voting for the first time and is eager to help decide who will become the nation\u2019s 45th president.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis class gives me an understanding of the framework of an election,\u201d the political science major from Los Angeles says. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s a consequential election that will say a lot about our country\u2019s values and where we stand. It\u2019s beyond politics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cerbone believes students on the River Campus have grown increasingly interested in the political process as the election draws near.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the generation that\u2019s going to be affected the most,\u201d she says. \u201cCollege students care about college debt and the way women and minorities are treated in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Logan Williamson \u201917 says he\u2019s most interested to see what \u201cthe Sanders effect\u201d will be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very interested to see how high of a turnout rate there is for Hillary [Clinton] among millennials,\u201d the chemical engineering major from Horseheads, New York, says. \u201cI think there\u2019s going to be a huge dropoff from President Obama [in 2008 and 2012].\u201d<\/p>\n
Powell hopes her class inspires students to vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Thomas Jefferson said, \u2018An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cThe differences between the candidates are so great that the stakes for the country are correspondingly great as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a freshman, Skylar Cerbone \u201920 normally wouldn\u2019t take Lynda Powell\u2019s intermediate course, American Elections, this fall. But Cerbone didn\u2019t want to wait. \u201cIt\u2019s a presidential election year,\u201d the political science major says. \u201cI had to take this class now. It\u2019s too important not to.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":196632,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[21462,8756,12792,16072],"class_list":["post-194572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-department-of-political-science","tag-elections","tag-politics","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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