Two weeks ago, I was standing among a throng of students in Hotung Café at Tufts University—a crowd burning in anticipation to learn the outcome of the presidential election.

I had left my quiet dorm room just ten minutes before with a friend of mine, after finishing my assignments, to witness this historic moment.

The area was packed; I could only cram into the room by jostling and shoving other students aside. The predictions for most of the eastern and southern states had already been announced; Governor Romney had a marginal lead over President Obama. After a while, the emcee announced that CNN’s prediction for Ohio, one of the key swing states, was out. Breaths were held, dead silence prevailed, and all eyes were fixed on the two TV screens.

***

In my mind I was transported back to the Afghan presidential elections in 2009.

The number of candidates was 22 times the number running in the American elections – 44 candidates – yet the thrill of the election was barely noticeable. In fact, I don’t even recall following the news about it. No matter how many candidates there were to choose from, there was little faith that any of them could or would bring much change.

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A college campus is the best place to follow an election. There are voter registration drives, presidential debate watches, mock debates, and forums to encourage students to discuss what it means to be an informed voter, and how to make the best decision for the next four years. Meanwhile, the College Democrats and College Republicans, clubs for politically-minded students of each party, have been working with full-force to mobilize the student body to vote on Election Day.

Obama and Romney face off in the first presidential debate

Personally, I have enjoyed participating in all this, even though I won’t be voting on Election Day. I believe that the political culture of a country is a good reflection of the people living in it, and this election has provided a new way to get to know America.

During the first presidential debate, hundreds of students at my school got together to watch the live broadcast.  Several campus organizations sponsored the event, at which they passed out clickers for students to record their opinions to various questions about the candidates and the debate.

The students began by recording which candidate they would vote for if the election were held right then. About 60 percent of those polled said that they would vote for Governor Romney, with the remaining 40 percent for President Obama. The survey also asked them why, and the main response was that they were unhappy with how the Obama administration had handled the economy.

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Photo: Reuters

I got to America just in time for campaign season to begin, and just in time to catch a moment that set the tone for the election as I have experienced it since.

When I arrived, Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin was just about to tell a TV station in Missouri that during “a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” arguing abortion shouldn’t be allowed in cases of rape. I was shocked to hear a candidate say something that was not only scientifically untrue but also such a seemingly extreme point of view. In Britain, this comment would almost certainly have resulted in the candidate stepping down and the campaign of the party being seriously damaged.

While many Republicans did condemn Akin’s statement, and Akin eventually apologized, the outrage was hardly as universal and decisive as I would have expected back home. Akin is still campaigning to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate, and even has a chance at winning, running in a state where nearly 40% of voters are evangelical Christians. In fact, the comments were treated as a political gaffe (albeit a major one); something for the Democratic party to seize upon as “worrisome” and “extreme” in arguing the case for their own party and candidates.

Divisions, Real and Contrived

As I’ve found, candidates can and do run on some very divisive issues, playing to the more extreme parts of their parties to solidify support from the “base.” Meanwhile, each party also goes after the middle ground, exploiting gaffes made by the competition in order to paint them as the immoderate ones.

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“How many of you believe in Congress?”

One day in my public speaking class, a student began his speech with this question, and nobody raised their hands to show their approval. Later in his speech, the student talked more about how Americans view their government, saying that the American government is losing credibility, people are dissatisfied with the present situation and, most importantly for him, lots of people he knows don’t vote.

I got almost horrified that day. That student dared to speak against the government in front of the whole class, and the other students and the teacher treated it so calmly that they even didn’t show a surprised look!

According to what I know, this would be totally unacceptable in lots of Asian countries, including my own. As a foreigner, I have to say, I am quite amazed and excited about this American freedom.

Has low voter turnout changed history?

Photo: Flickr user unsureshot

Americans are extremely proud of their democratic system, which is guaranteed by citizens’ voting rights. Yet my experience also tells me that sometimes the American democracy is not what it appears to be, and there are some problems that go along with this kind of freedom. Having just seen one Election Day, and watching the preparations for the 2012 presidential election, I agree with the student in my public speaking class that lack of participation in voting is one of these problems.

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It’s not as scientific a measure as most viewed or most commented, but here my top 5 favorite posts our bloggers wrote in 2010.  Although, let’s be clear, all the bloggers are amazing, and picking out just 5 feels really unfair.  As a bonus, I’m also including my top 5 favorite “Question of the Week”-style posts.

My top 5 favorite blogger posts:

# 5) On Colours of American Armour, or Why I Refuse to AmericaniSe my Spelling, by Nareg

I shall definitely “graduate” in May, and not “pass out”, as I would have in India. Although, the exhausting way we work here at St. John’s College, it may end up being a little of both.

# 4) Rethinking Democracy, by Sebastian

But something I found interesting is the fact that voting day here in Kansas is just like any other week day, and if someone doesn’t vote, there is no penalty for that.

# 3) A Personal Take on “Americanization,” by Nick

On my plate was a sizable cheese burger, sitting on top of a bunch of curly fries, accompanied by plenty of ketchup and pickle slices to round up the over-packed plate.

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Zimbabwean campuses come alive during election periods. Political student activists normally belong to one of the two main political factions: the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) or the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). They move around campus putting up posters of their candidates (or tearing down the other party’s posters) and distributing T-shirts that have their party’s logo. At times, they hold rallies where there is lot of singing of political songs and dancing. In some cases, political extremists employ abusive language and violence to threaten members the other party.

On the day of an election, the tension is high and uncertainty is rife. People go out and join the long winding queues of fellow voters patiently waiting their turn to cast their ballot. Very few, if any lessons are conducted during the election period. Some schools have had to shut down because an election period was characterized by violence of varying degrees.

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To talk about politics means to engage in what is basically a minefield of opinions. Debates can get as long as the day and night together, and even then not reach a conclusion that leaves everyone satisfied. But how much of the population is well-versed in the issues? How involved in politics are Americans? Are people from other countries more or less involved? And is political involvement from the masses something good or bad?

Coming from Bolivia, I’m used to hearing strong opinions about politics, especially how bad the current government is doing (not only this government, but in general). I’ve heard that in most countries in South America the same kind of comments are typical.

But it’s not only about political opinions. People are used to being very politically involved in many aspects of life. In Bolivia, for example, public colleges are totally free for citizens and therefore are well linked to the state government. So when something is not functioning the whole school (teachers and students) let the city know it with strikes or marches. The same thing happens with unions, or independent public offices – they find a way to be heard. In comparison, people in the States seem to be indifferent about politics.

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The U.S. media made a big deal over Tuesday’s midterm elections.  Republicans took back control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats and seriously eroded their Senate majority, in what was seen as a referendum on both Obama’s first two years and the viability of the conservative “Tea Party.”  But did students get involved?  How did college campuses, around the world a common home of political activism, respond to the elections?  And what is a U.S. election like as an international student?

At Indiana University, international students said they didn’t feel the midterm elections were relevant for them, or that they didn’t understand the process.  Sebastian says political activity in the U.S. feels very different than in his home country, Bolivia, although he’s not sure which is better.  Senzeni says U.S. elections are much more peaceful than votes in Zimbabwe, where she’s from.

Here are some more views on the election from our bloggers:

Tara Cheng
I have to admit I am a outsider on political issues. Even in China, I almost totally do not care about who will be the next president or premier. For what reasons? Maybe I think the president candidates are way too far from my daily life. But it is funny that if I feel them far away from me, since I was living in the capital of China – how must people living in other cities in China feel?

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Election day is my favorite holiday. Yes, a holiday.  For me, there is no better reason to celebrate than getting my vote on.  Once 7pm comes around you can find me in front of the TV hanging on to every word, as the first election results come in.  For the past few weeks I have annoyed my friends and peers to no end, posting Facebook statuses and tweeting about the importance of voting.

Photo: Flickr user unsureshot

At 3:30am, after watching election coverage for more than eight hours, I stumbled my way to bed, overtired and slightly worried about my homework that went unfinished.  By 7am I was back to checking election updates every five minutes to ensure I didn’t miss a beat.

I consider myself a political junkie; politics are what I do, they’re what I love, but for many students here at Syracuse University, and a large number of young people in the United States, November 2^nd was nothing more than the long awaited end to months of negative campaign ads. And while I am equally disgusted by campaign ads that essentially do nothing more than pinpoint one “bad guy” against another, I can’t understand why this negativity would motivate people not to vote.

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