Students show up in large numbers at polls

The Set was not only home to mom and pop vendors Tuesday, but voters and campaign teams as well.

The voters and campaigners were not gathered for another political rally, but gathered to turn their voice into a vote for the 2004 presidential election.

Some insiders say this presidential election is unique and unlike any other they have participated in on the campus of Florida A&M University.

“I am on my third presidential election, and I can tell you that we got here at 6 a.m. to prepare to open at 7 a.m. But, by 6:30 a.m. students were already lined up,” said Vicky Chavis, the deputy election supervisor for FAMU’s two precincts located in the Grand Ballroom.

However, for some students, Nov. 2 was not a day to stand in line to vote. Many voted early.

Lauren Grant, 21, a fourth-year business administration student from Columbia, S.C., and chair of the vote coalition said Tuesday was a day to campaign for her party and rally students to get involved because she had already cast her vote on the first day of early voting.

“We can’t be passed over,” Grant said. “Because this election is so pivotal. This election is so important for our generation.”

Summer Jackson, 19, a second-year general studies student from Miami could not agree more.

Pacing from spot to spot on campus, Jackson not only let her voice be heard through her vote, but throughout the Quad as she held a “We Decide” poster and asked students if they had voted.

“I am trying to make people understand that we need to vote,” Jackson said. “We need for our voice and opinions to be heard. No matter who you support, we need to be heard.”

Kevin Sconiers, 22, a senior business administration student from Chicago said his voice was heard loud and clear when he voted to bring friends, family and other Americans home.

“I don’t want to go to war, and I want my friends and family who are in the war to come back home. So, I voted,” he said.

Nevertheless, no matter where people may stand on the issues and how they allow their voices to ring loud and clear, some students will not be swayed in their decision to remain true to themselves and their religious beliefs.

Jason Boyd, 19, a second-year business administration student from Ft. Lauderdale said his beliefs would not allow him to vote.

“As a Jehovah’s Witness, I cannot vote,” Boyd said. “It is my belief that politics are corrupt, full of lies, deceit and candidates willing to undercut each other just to obtain a higher position.”

However, for others who chose to vote, election protection supervisors made it clear through posters and flyers that every vote would be counted.

Contact Tera Hodges at terahodges@yahoo.com.