2008 Woodie Awards
Deeper awareness of global issues crucial for students
Dan Keenan
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Opinion
It does not matter which news station you are partial to, or how often you frequent a news website or turn on the nightly news, it is completely safe to say that the majority of the coverage a station gives will be devoted to this year's presidential election.
However, as I write this -- halfway through my sophomore year -- sometimes I feel like more people should be excited about this whole process. I always find myself checking up on the news and even to the debates -- even if they do air a little too frequently. But I have been beginning to find that my fascination for the Democratic and Republican candidates campaigning across the country is not as mutual among many of my friends or peers.
In America, we strive for anything that is bigger and better. We always want to super-size. Yet, there is a very obvious reason, besides our American character, as to why this year -- during this particular presidential election -- state primaries have been moved to new dates (in some cases weeks earlier than they have been previously), there are more debates, and greater coverage of campaigns.
It is because we all know that although it has been a long coming, this election is much different from any election in past decades. This election is without doubt one of the most important political contests, as it will represent the change that we as a nation and as individual people have called for in the past seven years. And I feel like more people should care.
The national media are more involved than they need to be. But, for as much as it inundates CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News, political activism, (or even awareness), seems to be at quiet here at Loyola.
I am in know way trying to cut short the idea that the possibilities are not here. Believe it or not, we actually do have a College Democrats Club and a College Republicans Club. However, aside from the "Interested in becoming involved?" fliers that were up around campus this year, little, if nothing, has been heard or seen about these organizations. The opportunities for promoting them have been scant.
However, as I write this -- halfway through my sophomore year -- sometimes I feel like more people should be excited about this whole process. I always find myself checking up on the news and even to the debates -- even if they do air a little too frequently. But I have been beginning to find that my fascination for the Democratic and Republican candidates campaigning across the country is not as mutual among many of my friends or peers.
In America, we strive for anything that is bigger and better. We always want to super-size. Yet, there is a very obvious reason, besides our American character, as to why this year -- during this particular presidential election -- state primaries have been moved to new dates (in some cases weeks earlier than they have been previously), there are more debates, and greater coverage of campaigns.
It is because we all know that although it has been a long coming, this election is much different from any election in past decades. This election is without doubt one of the most important political contests, as it will represent the change that we as a nation and as individual people have called for in the past seven years. And I feel like more people should care.
The national media are more involved than they need to be. But, for as much as it inundates CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News, political activism, (or even awareness), seems to be at quiet here at Loyola.
I am in know way trying to cut short the idea that the possibilities are not here. Believe it or not, we actually do have a College Democrats Club and a College Republicans Club. However, aside from the "Interested in becoming involved?" fliers that were up around campus this year, little, if nothing, has been heard or seen about these organizations. The opportunities for promoting them have been scant.
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