End of election season relief for some students

Junior Abigail Kramer said she is happy the election is ending because she is tired of constantly being bombarded with political coverage. She said she has become desensitized to campaign advertisements because of the constant flow of information. 

Kramer said she watched election coverage to make an informed decision, but thought the many political advertisements took away from the real issues.  

 “The election slowly started becoming less interesting as the coverage became more and more constant,” Kramer said.  

As Election Day marked the end of President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney’s campaigns, students had varied reactions to the closing of election season. 

Sophomore Paul Gunteski said the amount of attention media outlets gave to the election was overwhelming, but it was not unwarranted. 

“I don’t think the constant coverage was too much,” Gunteski said. “I think it was important and it should be all over the media. People need to be informed of what is going on with our government.” 

He said he constantly keeps up with political coverage and is sad to see the election come to end. 

On the other hand, sophomore Mike Hession said he will not miss anything about the election because he is tired of constantly hearing about the candidates on television and in class. 

He said the most interesting part of the election campaign was watching the debates because he could learn about candidates’ policies and see how they spoke to each other. Hession said he enjoyed watching Obama and Romney’s expressions during the debate. 

 “I’m at an age now where I can understand the different policies and what concepts the candidates are talking about and how they will affect my family and I,” Hession said. 

Gunteski said he liked that the election gave him a chance to form his own political beliefs. 

“It’s different being at school away from my parents,” Gunteski said. “I don’t have to hear their political views, therefore, its easier for me to form my own opinions.” 

He said he enjoyed debating and discussing the election with friends because people are more informed during the election, which makes for interesting conversation.

However, Grunteski said uneducated debates on social media annoyed him because people make themselves look ignorant by putting uninformed opinions on the Internet for everyone to see.

Hession said the constant flow of political news on Facebook and Twitter was excessive. 

“I am looking forward to no longer seeing people who are not knowledgeable about politics and the policies of each candidate stating their clearly uneducated and biased opinions via social media,” Hession said. “It’s just frustrating to watch.” 

Kramer said the social media buzz about the election will most likely continue well after votes are cast. She said people will probably want to voice their opinions about the election results.