From Cascade

Paco L. drops off his ballot Tuesday night at the Student Union. (Photo by John Crow)

From Carly Palmer, Cort Cox and Jill May, on the SOU Campus:

Election night is here and polls are already closing and rolling their results. Here in Oregon we still have a few hours left before the counting starts. Last minute ballots are still filtering in, yet many students are content to report that their votes have already been cast. Walking around the Cascade food court at 6 p.m. on election night revealed that many of the dorm-dwellers had already put their opinions to paper.

There was an unofficial ballot box set up outside the post office across from the dining hall. When asked, the worker on duty did not have much to contribute, saying that she had not been paying attention to the number of student voters, and hadn’t really noticed if there were a lot of them or not. She couldn’t be blamed for this, of course, because she does have other duties inside that room, and the box was pretty self-sufficient. It filled up, someone else came by to collect it, and she had nothing to do with it.

Nearby, Theresa Y. offered her opinion on the polling. She explained that the numbers of student voters were high and that, “almost everyone I’ve talked to so far has voted, and it’s mostly for Obama.” She also added that there was only one student in her recent memory that said he would not be voting, and there was nothing she could do to change his mind.

Even with that one student, the turnout has been amazing. The extreme interest students have taken in this year’s election has made it even more historic than the general media is even aware of. While the focus is on the white vs. black vote, and the race between the two strongest political parties in our nation, they are too busy to notice the surge of interest this young generation of new voters is taking in their world. They are seeking change, spurred on by not only the last four years, but the four before it, and they are making sure their votes are counted.

“I feel this is an historic election. Extremely,” Zack W. said, while sitting in the Cedar common room watching CNBC. “And this year would be the year to vote.”

Democrats and Republicans alike are getting their voices out there, and though it seems easier to run into an Obama supporter around campus, there are strong showings for the other side. Colleen M. explains why she voted for McCain in simple terms. “I’m actually a Democrat,” she said, “but I think we should focus on fixing current problems, rather than putting money in things we hope will happen.” She adds that she felt McCain was the man to do just that.

Sitting next to her, Colleen’s friend, Kelly D., added, “I was not impressed by either candidate very strongly, but I was raised a Republican and I don’t really think the changes Obama is pushing for are as positive as everyone thinks.”

Whatever way a student votes, it’s the fact that they’re doing it that is important. Every vote counts this year, and we, the students, are the catalysts for change in this world. It is up to us to get our opinions and our needs out there, and by voting we are letting the nation know that we are here, and we are interested in a better world to grow up in.

08vote Students Hit the Streets

More than 50 students have finished their pizza, downed their sodas, and hit the streets of Ashland and Medford looking for election stories.

There are writers, photographers, bloggers and videographers working in teams to find who voted, how they voted, and what they think about the results. They will find as many local candidates as possible, and send in reports from both party’s headquarters, the Blue Bash in Ashland, the Red Lion in Medford, SOU Residence Halls and watch parties at Standing Stone, 4 Daughters, Elements, Creekside Pizza, RedRock Pizza — and anywhere people are being political.

Send us your comments, thoughts, reactions, and suggestions for where our students should go to get the best election stories. And watch this space for the latest local election results. Here we go!

Vote here!

The Oppenheimers dropped their ballots by the Ashland Library this afternoon. (If you look close at her T-shirt, you can see who she voted for.)  Photo by Eva Ford.  Below, a voter has her wish on her fingers.

RVTV to cover elections

Beginning at 7 pm on election night, Rogue Valley Community Television, the region’s public, education and government access channels operated by Southern Oregon University, will present live election night coverage on cable RVTV Channel 9 in Jackson County and RVTV Government Channel 14 in Josephine County.

Overcoming Information Overload

There is no question that the Internet has changed how people get information, but this does not always translate into a more informed electorate. Information is in the ether, but how it is possible to decode the bias, innuendo, hype, and hysteria?

As the presidential election comes down to the wire, Internet traffic is buzzing and humming with hits to politically-related Web sites. As ComScore’s Andrew Lipsman observes, “….No matter who wins in the end, it’s clear we are witnessing a new paradigm quickly take shape. The Internet just may be giving television a run for its money as the most powerful medium in American politics.”

Robocalls, viral emails, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and blogs such as the Huffington Post, Politico, and Talkingpointsmemo are now a part of everyday life. The question now is how can we use the Internet wisely? How is it possible to become better informed on issue that directly affect us, especially when it comes down to local issues?

One of the best information strategies in becoming better informed is to utilize both old and new media in a way that helps us wade through a sea of distortion and inaccuracies.

Here are a few interesting Web sites worth following:

FiveThirtyEight

According to the site’s mission statement, 538 accumulates and analyzes polling and political data in way that is informed, accurate and attractive. Most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections.

Factcheck

This nonpartisan site, operated by the Annenberg Public Center of the University of Pennsylvania, monitors the factual accuracy of what is being said by political candidates

Polltracker

According to the site: “Every day, the CQ Politics staff tracks the key national and state polls that you should know about. We bring you both because in the presidential race, while some candidates may ride in the national polls, their standing in key primary and caucus states may show a different picture — one that could change the momentum of the nomination battles.”

The Report Card

This blog aims to reveal how college campuses across the country are participating in this year’s presidential and congressional elections. Through student-written and produced multimedia, CQ Politics will explore what students think and do during an election year.

The Fact Checker

A blog of the Washington Post that offers analysis of the facts provided by political campaigns.

What we are about

The Mail Tribune reported on what our Cyberia class in doing today. The focus was about how we are mobilizing the vote through new media.

By Anita Burke

Mail Tribune

Southern Oregon University students surreptitiously scroll through menus on cell phones and tap out text messages as associate communications professor Dennis Dunleavy leads an animated discussion on how information technology has boosted productivity, empowerment and social interaction.

But in a freshman seminar titled “Cyberia” that focuses on how technology shapes lives, the glow from the screens of digital devices of all sorts is part of the curriculum.

And on Nov. 4, Dunleavy hopes that his students — with their blog posts, text messages, YouTube videos and other computer-generated civic action — will help light the way toward a new kind of journalism for a new kind of community.

At least 80 students from the Cyberia seminar and classes in journalism writing, photojournalism and video production plan to fan out across the SOU campus and the rest of the Rogue Valley to chronicle the election.

They will send details via text message and e-mail; post photos on Flikr, a photo-sharing Web site; report election results on a blog — 08vote.wordpress.com — and Facebook; spur discussions through instant messages and online forums; and report live on RVTV’s community access station, starting at 7 p.m. on Election Day.

“We are going to take what we are immersed in every day for our social lives and turn it on its head,” student Ben Holden said of the new media and technology.

Instead of just tracking friends and looking for photos from the last football game or other campus event, students will share political discussions, get informed and get involved, even if that wasn’t their original intent when they first logged on, he said.

“This is huge, participating in this way in one of our most historic elections,” Dunleavy said.

The generation now coming of age, often called “millennials,” has a reputation of growing up “wired.” They use technology that was unimaginable just a few years ago constantly and instinctively. However, the students in Dunleavy’s class clearly combined old and new forms of communication as they prepared for their first run at voting. They cited a gamut of sources for information, from printed voter’s pamphlets and newspapers to celebrity videos on YouTube.

Advertisements and recommended political stories are ubiquitous on Facebook, a popular social networking site, but they also are easy to ignore, said student Forrest Brooks. He also mistrusts mainstream media, especially cable news.

“As a first-time voter, I don’t have a political background,” he said. “I suppose I’m absorbing stuff from the Internet, but it’s harder to find valid information.”

He likes factcheck.org online, but he also likes talking to people, such as Dunleavy, who have experience in sorting through facts and voting.

Fellow student Amanda Brooks said she gathered information from voter’s guides prepared by the state and various interest groups, conversations with co-workers and teachers, and televised debates.

“We have to form our own opinions and see how the issues relate to us,” she said.

Technology helps them share their views, too. The class has made two short videos encouraging young people to vote and posted them on YouTube.

They hope to draw more people in with their election coverage. After the election, they hope to use the same online tools to attract attention and even sway opinion to other issues that matter to them, such as the environment, education and the economy.

“This is an example of using up-and-coming technology to our advantage,” Forrest Brooks said.

Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail aburke@mailtribune.com.

Technology affords us partcipation

Media aimed at youth are predicting a landslide in the upcoming presidential election, with Obama coming out on top. A teen survey conducted by Channel One shows Obama in the lead with 59 percent of the vote.

According to National Public Radio, “Young people have proven to be an important political force in the 2008 election cycle. Changes in technology are enabling them to get involved in politics in new and interesting ways.” David Colarusso observes, “The Internet is not just a way to raise money or mobilize supporters. It’s a way to shrink the distance between people and politicians. For the first time in history, it’s possible for hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people to have a single conversation.”

Americans dissatified with the ways things are going: Gallup Poll reports

Credit: Anne Cronin/InSight America/Magnum

Gallup reports the number of people saying they are dissatisfied with the country’s situation is at its lowest percentage since 1979. The question asked of Americans, “In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time? Only 9 percent of respondents reported to be happy with the way things are in the U.S.