Penn State Altoona (PSU Altoona) conducted an unscientific and unofficial online survey to learn more about the voting intentions and political and social concerns of the PSU Altoona student body.
When the survey closed at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, 280 students had participated. Of the participants, 269 of the 280 said that they were registered to vote. Of the participants, 152 said they would vote for President Donald J. Trump, the incumbent and Republican Party candidate. That is about 54 percent.
One hundred and twelve participants responded that they would vote for former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party candidate, about 40 percent. Sixteen of the respondents replied that they are voting for a third-party candidate, or about six percent.
Many young Americans are interested in politics, and the current election will likely increase political engagement among college students. This informal survey looked at what issues were at the front of PSU Altoona student’s minds and which candidate students support in the presidential election. Inspiration to conduct this poll came in part out of concerns for the increasing divisiveness in American politics and society.
“I’m concerned that efforts to delegitimize mail-in ballots will lead one party to call the election when it’s advantageous for them, before it’s clear that they’ve lost in a landslide,” said PSU Altoona student Ethan Cutshall.
Students voluntarily took this survey online and answered questions to indicate if they are registered to vote, who they support for president, what issue is most important to them, their demographic characteristics, and if they have a political affiliation.
“I wouldn’t say [it’s] a random sampling because only students who wanted to share their opinion participated,” said Collegiate Review staffer and study author Earl Kufen. This survey was conducted for amusement, not scientific study. By using social media to gain attention for the survey, or by approaching students on campus, a larger subject pool could be obtained. Although this would still not be a truly random sample, a larger sample size will provide more information.
The economy was the greatest concern among the subjects, with 91 stating it as the issue of most importance to them. The second greatest concern, according to the survey, is race relations, with 49 students claiming it as their issue of most importance. The pandemic and healthcare drew the least concern, with 19 and 17 students stating it as most important, respectively.
According to Forbes.com, American college campuses are generally considered to be politically left leaning, so it may surprise some readers that a majority of this survey’s subjects support Republican President Donald Trump. PSU Altoona’s rural location may explain the conservative majority found in this study.
PSU Altoona Student “Tripp” Ainsworth declined to give the Collegiate Review a statement on who he is voting for this election, but he did want to state his belief that “People are too divided over the RNC and the DNC. They don’t realize that neither party is good for America and the entire system needs reset,” he said.
Ainsworth said that he liked Andrew Yang, and that he “loved” Tulsi Gabbard. Ainsworth believes Gabbard would have fought government corruption, and that is why someone like her could never achieve the presidential nomination in the current system.
He also believes Gabbard could inspire voters from among liberals and conservatives.
“Trump wouldn’t have a chance against Tulsi,” Ainsworth said.
Have a thought or comment on this story? Send it to the Collegiate Review at altoonapaper@gmail.com.
