We’re 5 days away from the long-awaited Presidential election, so I figured I would go ahead and discuss a few political things I noticed during my trip.
Even though the trip lasted a full year, I think the entire thing might have taken place during this present campaign. Weird. It will be a nice change when it’s over.
There’s less to write about than you might think. The truth is, I saw far less political activity on 181 campuses than I expected. It’s not that students aren’t politically involved – they’re just not particularly committed for the long haul.
There will always be students in College Republicans and College Democrats, and right now it’s cooler to be in the latter – so the die-hard Dems are more visible on campus. But beyond those extra-political students, I honestly did not see any surprising amount of political activity. I think it’s probably there, in conversations and clubs and internet surfing and perhaps even donations. But it wasn’t particularly visible when I was spending time on campuses.
I did get to see Barack Obama in person at the University of North Carolina, which was interesting and boring all at the same time. For a report from back then, click here. I would have seen McCain or others if I’d had the chance. I just missed Chelsea Clinton at Duke.
For more political reflections from the midst of the trip, see this post.
More tomorrow.