Rep.Hinchey Leave After Decades of
The Corne¬ Daily Sun E G LECTION
UIDE
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012
Four Years Later,Obama Euphoria Fades By KERRY CLOSE Sun News Editor
As the contentious and divisive 2012 presidential campaign draws to a close, Cornell students and professors say that this year’s election has not generated nearly the same level of excitement on campus as the one in 2008. During the 2008 campaign, Cornell’s campus was “abuzz,” said Prof. Theodore Lowi,
government. “There was a lot of talk, a lot of chatter, among both faculty and students, on the issues,” he said. But this year, Lowi said, he has seen far less enthusiasm about the upcoming presidential election. “Walking around campus, I’ve seen no excitement, nothing energizing. I see it as a typical fall term. I don’t see that students are eager to get involved in spats with each other or talk about what has happened lately in politics,” he said. Prof. Isaac Kramnick, government, said campus interest in the 2008 presidential race was in large part due to the state of the economy. “The election in 2008 occurred with the economy in absolute shambles,” he said. “Students were just as worried and concerned as their parents were about the possibility … of revisiting the Great Depression.” Still, citing the number of issues at stake in the 2012 election, Kramnick said he was surprised by the “general lack of enthusiasm” among students. Kramnick said that the 2012 election also differs from the 2008 election because President Obama faced a particularly challenging campaign for re-election. He quoted former HAILEY WILMER / SUN FILE PHOTO
Obama-mania | Cornell
y t n o e n w e T toOne
In Cornell government department, Dems outnumber GOP by huge margin By REBECCA HARRIS Sun News Editor
The Democratic affiliation of an overwhelming number of Cornell’s government professors is neither evidence of bias nor inherently disadvantageous to students, according to the department’s chair. After all, he says, Cornell’s government professors are academics who study politics from a primarily theoretical standpoint. “We’re professional political scientists, so we study political science as an empirical science,” department chair Prof. Nicholas van der Walle, government, said. “We’re trying to render a more scientific study of politics, so we all have a kind of distance that means we don’t have very engaged conversations about politics. Maybe that’s curious, but that’s true.” Of those registered to vote in Tompkins County, only one Cornell government professor is registered as a Republican, compared to 21 Democrats, according to the Tompkins County Board of Elections. But that disparity is not a problem, according to van der
Walle. “I don’t feel like [Cornell’s government professors are] particularly engaged in the election. I think we could be criticized for not being engaged in civil exercise rather than for being overly engaged in it in a partisan way,” van der Walle said. “I would suspect you have much more overt political conversations in the math department than in the government department.” But Raj Kannappan ’13, a government major and former chair of the Cornell Republicans, said the liberal slant of the department’s faculty is clear. It is obvious, he said, that the majority of professors in the department lean to the left of the political spectrum — and he can usually tell “right off the bat” within the first few days of a course where the professor stands on most issues, whether or not the professor intended to disclose their politics to the class. “Obviously, I don’t expect them to be robots — they have their own views and that’s completely fine. Sometimes I almost wish they’d See GOVERNMENT page E3
students take to Dino’s to celebrate President Barack Obama winning the 2008 election. If Obama wins, will they this year?
THE SUN’S GUIDE TO TOMORROW’S VOTE Coverage of:
• Campaign $$$ • Alumni candidates • Polls
New York Governor Mario Cuomo, who in 1985 wrote: “You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.” “I think the real issue with Obama is that four years ago, he was campaigning in poetry — the poetry of hope, change and the drama of an African American running for president,” Kramnick said. “This time around, he is running in prose, because he has been governing for four years and no one sounds as exciting, as thrilling, after they had their hands tarnished by having to govern.” Max Schechter ’14, chair of public relations for the Cornell Democrats, agreed that Obama’s campaign has lost much of the novelty that made him so appealing in 2008. “It’s the difference between an ideal presidency and a reality,” he said. Still, Schechter said Obama’s record as an incumbent could also work in his favor. “I think we have more concrete things to be happy about, like the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and the saving of the auto industry,” Schechter said. “The difference [in this election] is that we’ve gotten to see [Obama’s] ideas put into practice.” Jess Reif ’14, chair of the Cornell Republicans, countered that it is Obama’s performance during his first term — not the fact that he is running for re-election — that explains why Cornellians are not as excited about this election as they were in 2008. “I think in his 2008 campaign, [Obama] seemed like a bold leader,” she said. “In the last four years, he has proven that he’s incompetent.” Reif said that she expects this lack of enthusiasm to be reflected in a decrease in youth voter turnout this season. See ENTHUSIASM page E3
Rep.Hinchey Leaves Liberal Legacy After Decades of Public Service By AKANE OTANI Sun News Editor
Outgoing Rep. Maurice Hinchey’s (D-N.Y.) 38-year career in politics had a humble beginning: collecting tolls on the New York Thruway at night to pay his way through college. The Manhattan native, who served in the U.S. Navy and worked in a cement factory before attending college, said he was steered toward politics by a “natural calling” to help others. “I had a strong desire to make life better for people in my community, my state and my country,” Hinchey said. Hinchey got his chance in 1975, when he w a s elected to the N e w Yo r k State
Assembly — becoming the first Democrat from Ulster County to win a seat in the legislature since 1912. After being elected to represent the former 22nd Congressional District, which includes Ithaca and Binghamton, Hinchey established himself as a staunch supporter of federal student aid programs and research funding. Visiting Cornell in 2011, Hinchey decried a G.O.P. proposal to cut Pell Grant funding, calling it a “huge, huge mistake.” H e
also slammed a proposal in the House of Representative to slash federal investments in research, saying that Cornell, along with other universities, used government funds to advance medicine, clean energy and agricultural technologies. These fights to preserve federal resources, he recalled, remain “some of the greatest victories” of his political career. “From money for research projects at Cornell to expanded student aid, I’ve always focused on making strategic investments that will help ensure a brighter future for individuals and our communities,” he said. As a member of several committees in the House of Representatives, Hinchey continued to push progressive agendas — voting against a proposed ban to prohibit gay couples from adopting children in D.C., advocating replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment and pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to study the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing. See HINCHEY page E3
Monday, November 5, 2012
The Corne¬ Daily Sun
PAGE E3
ELECTION GUIDE
C.U. Students Lament Hinchey Reflects on Years of Public Service Low Number of GOP Professors on Campus
Hinchey, then 73 years old, said he would retire after the November elections. After being diagnosed with and treated for colon cancer throughout 2011 and “I’m also proud of my work on the environment, 2012, Hinchey said he would not seek re-election once including strong investments in solar and other sources his term ended. of clean energy,” he said. “Those fields will continue to Ulster County Executive Mike Hein — who told steadily grow and will provide quality jobs for future the Associated Press that Hinchey was a long-time graduates and expand our economy.” mentor and friend — said “there’s no question that not But the measures Hinchey advocated were not having Congressman Hinchey there is a loss for our always easily accepted. He recalled most of his years in community.” Congress as being fraught with conflict: Partisan agenMonths later, the 22nd district Hinchey served was das put the House in a gridlock, making it hard for divided into four new districts through New York either political party to advance legislation, he said. State’s redistricting. As Congressional hopefuls battle “The greatest challenge [of my career] has been serv- for seats in the districts, Hinchey articulated his hopes ing as a part of the minority party in the House for 14 for incoming Congressional representatives. of my 20 years in Congress. “I hope that my sucWith Republicans leading cessors take the time to the House for so long, it's “I feel very good about all of the meet all of the wonderbeen hard to get as much things we’ve accomplished.” ful people who live in done as I think many people their district and to would have liked,” he said. Maurice Hinchey learn their stories,” he “Nevertheless, we still accomsaid. “All of my accomplished a lot.” plishments in Congress have come from listening to the With a reputation for being, in the words of concerns of my constituents and taking the appropriate Politico, “one of the most liberal members of the House action in Washington to respond to those concerns and Democratic Caucus,” Hinchey was not without critics. make a difference.” Roger Rascoe, chair of the Ulster County With election day approaching, Hinchey thanked Republican Committee, said that Hinchey’s “free- the constituents he represented throughout his time in spending” policies piled up debt over the years. Albany and on Capitol Hill. “I certainly respect Congressman Hinchey for his “As I reflect back on 38 years in public office — 18 many years of public service in Congress, but his voting in the NYS Assembly and 20 in Congress — I am record is the exact opposite from what I would have extremely grateful to the people I've represented for chosen,” Rascoe said. “His legacy is that our grandchil- affording me the opportunity to serve them,” he said. dren will have to pay for the measures he voted for.” “I woke up each day ready to fight hard for them. I feel Nevertheless, the Congressman found supporters very good about all of the things we've accomplished.” from the left who were disappointed when, in January, Hinchey made an announcement at a press conference: Akane Otani can be reached “It’s time for someone else.” at [email protected]. HINCHEY
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GOVERNMENT
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just be more open about it,” he said. “It becomes very hard for me to take the professor credibly as a fair and impartial scholar.” Van der Walle and others maintained that government faculty are careful to ensure that their personal opinions do not color their conduct in the classroom. “No doubt that political biases may come out, but it’s a pretty strong professional norm that you wouldn’t impose your views on students,” he said. “I’ve been here for a little over a year, and … I’m aware of no [formal] complaints [of bias] that have been registered to the Dean’s office or to my office as chair.” Catherine Reyes-Householder grad echoed van der Walle, saying that while she would be very surprised to hear a government professor say he or she would vote for Gov. Mitt Romney — “it’s sort of understood that people [in the department] vote for Obama” — those views are not imposed on students and do not undercut the quality of education faculty members provide. Reyes-Householder said she understood how it might be difficult for a student coming from a Republican background to arrive at Cornell and get the sense that the overwhelming majority of faculty lean to the left. But learning to agree to disagree is part of the undergraduate experience, she said. Kannappan conceded that engaging in intellectual debate with professors can be educational — “but sometimes it’s nice to have someone who agrees with you,” he added with a laugh. Kannappan added that what he sees as a uniformity of perspectives within the department manifests itself in more indirect consequences for students. For one, a lack of conservative viewpoints among University faculty can be a detriment if it restricts the opportunity for students to hear all possible ideas about a particular topic, he said. For instance, Kannappan said that based on his personal observations, the majority of government professors would agree that some degree of redistribution of wealth benefits society. While they might differ on the level and application of redistribution, none are likely to disavow the idea entirely, he said. “There are not going to be professors who think redistribution is bad for society,” Kannappan said. “The disagreements [between Cornell professors] on these issues is marginal — they’re not fundamental differences.” For government majors seeking an academic mentor, then, the dearth of Republican professors can be limiting, Kannappan said. “Students from a particular race, ethnicity, background, if they have a professor with that same background, they have someone to talk to. For many conservative students, that can be hard to find,” he said. Recruiting intellectually diverse faculty has come up in conversation within the government department, van der Walle said. But he added that there is no formal mechanism for it in the hiring process. “In a regular [faculty hire] search, any kind of diversity is not discussed formally … It would be considered really inappropriate at a job interview to ask someone what their politics were,” van der Walle said. “We’re interviewing someone this week and I have no idea how they’re voting in this election. It just would be considered inappropriate to talk about.” Prof. Isaac Kramnick, government, added that potential hires are evaluated on the “analytical” rather than “ideological” merits of their research and writings. The lack of Republican professors in the department is the result, more often than not, of a paucity of conservative candidates applying for academic positions, he said. “There are no Republicans not because we are biased against conservatives and turn them down when they apply for a job in the department. In fact, at job interviews, the politics of the applicant never comes up,” Kramnick said. “The reason we have no Republicans is that young Republican men and women are less likely to go into academic life than liberals.” Still, Kramnick lamented the disparity in political party affiliation among the department’s faculty. Although he too emphasized that professors at Cornell make every attempt to keep their personal biases out of the classroom, he added that students and the University at large do “suffer from the absence of conservative perspectives on campus.” Rebecca Harris can be reached at [email protected].
Prof: Students’ Lack of Enthusiasm ‘Disturbing’ ENTHUSIASM
the economy,” Reif said. “[But] others take the view that we can’t afford another four years of “Voter turnout, particularly Obama.” among young people, is going to be Kramnick, however, said a lack a lot lower than in 2008,” Reif said. of enthusiasm for President Obama “Then, we saw record numbers. I on campus may not necessarily don’t see the enthusiasm that existreflect perceptions of his shortcomed in 2008 for either ings as a leader. Rather, he candidate.” said, Obama simply is not “I don’t see the enthusiasm that Schechter agreed, the fresh face he was four adding that the dimin- existed in 2008 for either candidate.” years ago. ished excitement among “Obama’s now a known young Americans has Jess Reif ’14 quantity,” Kramnick said. been noticeable on “I don’t think it reflects disCornell’s campus. desire to see one candidate lose — illusionment in the sense that stu“People at Cornell aren’t as excit- rather than by a passion for the per- dents feel he didn’t perform.” ed for either candidate or about son they are voting for. politics in general,” he said. “A lot of people see Romney as a Lowi said he finds students’ lack capable business leader and see his Kerry Close can be reached of interest in the election “disturb- election as a chance to turn around at [email protected]. Continued from page E1
ing.” “There’s so much at stake in this election and a lot to talk about,” he said. “It would be nice to see more engagement.” Students and professors also suggested that Cornellians’ decisions to vote Tuesday may be driven by a
DAMON WINTERS / THE NEW YORK TIMES
We can do it? | President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event in Concord, N.H., just days before the presidential election draws to a close.
UIDE
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012
Four Years Later,Obama Euphoria Fades By KERRY CLOSE Sun News Editor
As the contentious and divisive 2012 presidential campaign draws to a close, Cornell students and professors say that this year’s election has not generated nearly the same level of excitement on campus as the one in 2008. During the 2008 campaign, Cornell’s campus was “abuzz,” said Prof. Theodore Lowi,
government. “There was a lot of talk, a lot of chatter, among both faculty and students, on the issues,” he said. But this year, Lowi said, he has seen far less enthusiasm about the upcoming presidential election. “Walking around campus, I’ve seen no excitement, nothing energizing. I see it as a typical fall term. I don’t see that students are eager to get involved in spats with each other or talk about what has happened lately in politics,” he said. Prof. Isaac Kramnick, government, said campus interest in the 2008 presidential race was in large part due to the state of the economy. “The election in 2008 occurred with the economy in absolute shambles,” he said. “Students were just as worried and concerned as their parents were about the possibility … of revisiting the Great Depression.” Still, citing the number of issues at stake in the 2012 election, Kramnick said he was surprised by the “general lack of enthusiasm” among students. Kramnick said that the 2012 election also differs from the 2008 election because President Obama faced a particularly challenging campaign for re-election. He quoted former HAILEY WILMER / SUN FILE PHOTO
Obama-mania | Cornell
y t n o e n w e T toOne
In Cornell government department, Dems outnumber GOP by huge margin By REBECCA HARRIS Sun News Editor
The Democratic affiliation of an overwhelming number of Cornell’s government professors is neither evidence of bias nor inherently disadvantageous to students, according to the department’s chair. After all, he says, Cornell’s government professors are academics who study politics from a primarily theoretical standpoint. “We’re professional political scientists, so we study political science as an empirical science,” department chair Prof. Nicholas van der Walle, government, said. “We’re trying to render a more scientific study of politics, so we all have a kind of distance that means we don’t have very engaged conversations about politics. Maybe that’s curious, but that’s true.” Of those registered to vote in Tompkins County, only one Cornell government professor is registered as a Republican, compared to 21 Democrats, according to the Tompkins County Board of Elections. But that disparity is not a problem, according to van der
Walle. “I don’t feel like [Cornell’s government professors are] particularly engaged in the election. I think we could be criticized for not being engaged in civil exercise rather than for being overly engaged in it in a partisan way,” van der Walle said. “I would suspect you have much more overt political conversations in the math department than in the government department.” But Raj Kannappan ’13, a government major and former chair of the Cornell Republicans, said the liberal slant of the department’s faculty is clear. It is obvious, he said, that the majority of professors in the department lean to the left of the political spectrum — and he can usually tell “right off the bat” within the first few days of a course where the professor stands on most issues, whether or not the professor intended to disclose their politics to the class. “Obviously, I don’t expect them to be robots — they have their own views and that’s completely fine. Sometimes I almost wish they’d See GOVERNMENT page E3
students take to Dino’s to celebrate President Barack Obama winning the 2008 election. If Obama wins, will they this year?
THE SUN’S GUIDE TO TOMORROW’S VOTE Coverage of:
• Campaign $$$ • Alumni candidates • Polls
New York Governor Mario Cuomo, who in 1985 wrote: “You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.” “I think the real issue with Obama is that four years ago, he was campaigning in poetry — the poetry of hope, change and the drama of an African American running for president,” Kramnick said. “This time around, he is running in prose, because he has been governing for four years and no one sounds as exciting, as thrilling, after they had their hands tarnished by having to govern.” Max Schechter ’14, chair of public relations for the Cornell Democrats, agreed that Obama’s campaign has lost much of the novelty that made him so appealing in 2008. “It’s the difference between an ideal presidency and a reality,” he said. Still, Schechter said Obama’s record as an incumbent could also work in his favor. “I think we have more concrete things to be happy about, like the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and the saving of the auto industry,” Schechter said. “The difference [in this election] is that we’ve gotten to see [Obama’s] ideas put into practice.” Jess Reif ’14, chair of the Cornell Republicans, countered that it is Obama’s performance during his first term — not the fact that he is running for re-election — that explains why Cornellians are not as excited about this election as they were in 2008. “I think in his 2008 campaign, [Obama] seemed like a bold leader,” she said. “In the last four years, he has proven that he’s incompetent.” Reif said that she expects this lack of enthusiasm to be reflected in a decrease in youth voter turnout this season. See ENTHUSIASM page E3
Rep.Hinchey Leaves Liberal Legacy After Decades of Public Service By AKANE OTANI Sun News Editor
Outgoing Rep. Maurice Hinchey’s (D-N.Y.) 38-year career in politics had a humble beginning: collecting tolls on the New York Thruway at night to pay his way through college. The Manhattan native, who served in the U.S. Navy and worked in a cement factory before attending college, said he was steered toward politics by a “natural calling” to help others. “I had a strong desire to make life better for people in my community, my state and my country,” Hinchey said. Hinchey got his chance in 1975, when he w a s elected to the N e w Yo r k State
Assembly — becoming the first Democrat from Ulster County to win a seat in the legislature since 1912. After being elected to represent the former 22nd Congressional District, which includes Ithaca and Binghamton, Hinchey established himself as a staunch supporter of federal student aid programs and research funding. Visiting Cornell in 2011, Hinchey decried a G.O.P. proposal to cut Pell Grant funding, calling it a “huge, huge mistake.” H e
also slammed a proposal in the House of Representative to slash federal investments in research, saying that Cornell, along with other universities, used government funds to advance medicine, clean energy and agricultural technologies. These fights to preserve federal resources, he recalled, remain “some of the greatest victories” of his political career. “From money for research projects at Cornell to expanded student aid, I’ve always focused on making strategic investments that will help ensure a brighter future for individuals and our communities,” he said. As a member of several committees in the House of Representatives, Hinchey continued to push progressive agendas — voting against a proposed ban to prohibit gay couples from adopting children in D.C., advocating replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment and pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to study the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing. See HINCHEY page E3
Monday, November 5, 2012
The Corne¬ Daily Sun
PAGE E3
ELECTION GUIDE
C.U. Students Lament Hinchey Reflects on Years of Public Service Low Number of GOP Professors on Campus
Hinchey, then 73 years old, said he would retire after the November elections. After being diagnosed with and treated for colon cancer throughout 2011 and “I’m also proud of my work on the environment, 2012, Hinchey said he would not seek re-election once including strong investments in solar and other sources his term ended. of clean energy,” he said. “Those fields will continue to Ulster County Executive Mike Hein — who told steadily grow and will provide quality jobs for future the Associated Press that Hinchey was a long-time graduates and expand our economy.” mentor and friend — said “there’s no question that not But the measures Hinchey advocated were not having Congressman Hinchey there is a loss for our always easily accepted. He recalled most of his years in community.” Congress as being fraught with conflict: Partisan agenMonths later, the 22nd district Hinchey served was das put the House in a gridlock, making it hard for divided into four new districts through New York either political party to advance legislation, he said. State’s redistricting. As Congressional hopefuls battle “The greatest challenge [of my career] has been serv- for seats in the districts, Hinchey articulated his hopes ing as a part of the minority party in the House for 14 for incoming Congressional representatives. of my 20 years in Congress. “I hope that my sucWith Republicans leading cessors take the time to the House for so long, it's “I feel very good about all of the meet all of the wonderbeen hard to get as much things we’ve accomplished.” ful people who live in done as I think many people their district and to would have liked,” he said. Maurice Hinchey learn their stories,” he “Nevertheless, we still accomsaid. “All of my accomplished a lot.” plishments in Congress have come from listening to the With a reputation for being, in the words of concerns of my constituents and taking the appropriate Politico, “one of the most liberal members of the House action in Washington to respond to those concerns and Democratic Caucus,” Hinchey was not without critics. make a difference.” Roger Rascoe, chair of the Ulster County With election day approaching, Hinchey thanked Republican Committee, said that Hinchey’s “free- the constituents he represented throughout his time in spending” policies piled up debt over the years. Albany and on Capitol Hill. “I certainly respect Congressman Hinchey for his “As I reflect back on 38 years in public office — 18 many years of public service in Congress, but his voting in the NYS Assembly and 20 in Congress — I am record is the exact opposite from what I would have extremely grateful to the people I've represented for chosen,” Rascoe said. “His legacy is that our grandchil- affording me the opportunity to serve them,” he said. dren will have to pay for the measures he voted for.” “I woke up each day ready to fight hard for them. I feel Nevertheless, the Congressman found supporters very good about all of the things we've accomplished.” from the left who were disappointed when, in January, Hinchey made an announcement at a press conference: Akane Otani can be reached “It’s time for someone else.” at [email protected]. HINCHEY
Continued from page E1
GOVERNMENT
Continued from page E1
just be more open about it,” he said. “It becomes very hard for me to take the professor credibly as a fair and impartial scholar.” Van der Walle and others maintained that government faculty are careful to ensure that their personal opinions do not color their conduct in the classroom. “No doubt that political biases may come out, but it’s a pretty strong professional norm that you wouldn’t impose your views on students,” he said. “I’ve been here for a little over a year, and … I’m aware of no [formal] complaints [of bias] that have been registered to the Dean’s office or to my office as chair.” Catherine Reyes-Householder grad echoed van der Walle, saying that while she would be very surprised to hear a government professor say he or she would vote for Gov. Mitt Romney — “it’s sort of understood that people [in the department] vote for Obama” — those views are not imposed on students and do not undercut the quality of education faculty members provide. Reyes-Householder said she understood how it might be difficult for a student coming from a Republican background to arrive at Cornell and get the sense that the overwhelming majority of faculty lean to the left. But learning to agree to disagree is part of the undergraduate experience, she said. Kannappan conceded that engaging in intellectual debate with professors can be educational — “but sometimes it’s nice to have someone who agrees with you,” he added with a laugh. Kannappan added that what he sees as a uniformity of perspectives within the department manifests itself in more indirect consequences for students. For one, a lack of conservative viewpoints among University faculty can be a detriment if it restricts the opportunity for students to hear all possible ideas about a particular topic, he said. For instance, Kannappan said that based on his personal observations, the majority of government professors would agree that some degree of redistribution of wealth benefits society. While they might differ on the level and application of redistribution, none are likely to disavow the idea entirely, he said. “There are not going to be professors who think redistribution is bad for society,” Kannappan said. “The disagreements [between Cornell professors] on these issues is marginal — they’re not fundamental differences.” For government majors seeking an academic mentor, then, the dearth of Republican professors can be limiting, Kannappan said. “Students from a particular race, ethnicity, background, if they have a professor with that same background, they have someone to talk to. For many conservative students, that can be hard to find,” he said. Recruiting intellectually diverse faculty has come up in conversation within the government department, van der Walle said. But he added that there is no formal mechanism for it in the hiring process. “In a regular [faculty hire] search, any kind of diversity is not discussed formally … It would be considered really inappropriate at a job interview to ask someone what their politics were,” van der Walle said. “We’re interviewing someone this week and I have no idea how they’re voting in this election. It just would be considered inappropriate to talk about.” Prof. Isaac Kramnick, government, added that potential hires are evaluated on the “analytical” rather than “ideological” merits of their research and writings. The lack of Republican professors in the department is the result, more often than not, of a paucity of conservative candidates applying for academic positions, he said. “There are no Republicans not because we are biased against conservatives and turn them down when they apply for a job in the department. In fact, at job interviews, the politics of the applicant never comes up,” Kramnick said. “The reason we have no Republicans is that young Republican men and women are less likely to go into academic life than liberals.” Still, Kramnick lamented the disparity in political party affiliation among the department’s faculty. Although he too emphasized that professors at Cornell make every attempt to keep their personal biases out of the classroom, he added that students and the University at large do “suffer from the absence of conservative perspectives on campus.” Rebecca Harris can be reached at [email protected].
Prof: Students’ Lack of Enthusiasm ‘Disturbing’ ENTHUSIASM
the economy,” Reif said. “[But] others take the view that we can’t afford another four years of “Voter turnout, particularly Obama.” among young people, is going to be Kramnick, however, said a lack a lot lower than in 2008,” Reif said. of enthusiasm for President Obama “Then, we saw record numbers. I on campus may not necessarily don’t see the enthusiasm that existreflect perceptions of his shortcomed in 2008 for either ings as a leader. Rather, he candidate.” said, Obama simply is not “I don’t see the enthusiasm that Schechter agreed, the fresh face he was four adding that the dimin- existed in 2008 for either candidate.” years ago. ished excitement among “Obama’s now a known young Americans has Jess Reif ’14 quantity,” Kramnick said. been noticeable on “I don’t think it reflects disCornell’s campus. desire to see one candidate lose — illusionment in the sense that stu“People at Cornell aren’t as excit- rather than by a passion for the per- dents feel he didn’t perform.” ed for either candidate or about son they are voting for. politics in general,” he said. “A lot of people see Romney as a Lowi said he finds students’ lack capable business leader and see his Kerry Close can be reached of interest in the election “disturb- election as a chance to turn around at [email protected]. Continued from page E1
ing.” “There’s so much at stake in this election and a lot to talk about,” he said. “It would be nice to see more engagement.” Students and professors also suggested that Cornellians’ decisions to vote Tuesday may be driven by a
DAMON WINTERS / THE NEW YORK TIMES
We can do it? | President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event in Concord, N.H., just days before the presidential election draws to a close.
