Students make election history

The Appalachian is very pleased with the amount of student participation in the 2008 presidential election.

Over 28,000 votes were cast yesterday in Watauga County, with over 17,000 votes cast early, according to the Watauga County Board of Elections.

There are 43,415 registered voters in Watauga County and over half made it to the polls either in early voting or on Election Day Tuesday.

In addition to voting, The Appalachian also wants to congratulate Appalachian State University students for taking an active role in the months leading up to the election.

From debates between the College Republicans and College Democrats and volunteering to help a campaign, to writing letters to the editor for The Appalachian and encouraging friends to vote –The Appalachian is confident students helped shape the election.

The youth of this country, including Appalachian students, made history yesterday.

The 18 to 29 age bracket made up 18 percent of the total voters in this election.

Also, 69 percent of first-time voters voted Democrat, and the 18 to 29 age bracket voted 66 percent Democrat.

The other age groups, 30 to 44, 45 to 59, and 60 and older, tended to vote 50/50 Democrat or Republican according to the New York Times exit poll.

Following the announcement of the president-elect, a riot traveled through campus and King Street.

The Appalachian is thrilled such a large number of students felt empowered by the election and wanted to share their excitement with others. However, The Appalachian believes students should have respected school property and not damaged the goal post.

The demonstration did not pose any violent threat to the community or campus and students continuously joined in the march through campus.

This amount of excitement is comparable to Appalachian’s defeat of Michigan last year, and The Appalachian is impressed students harbor the same joy over this election as they do over our successful football team.

The Appalachian challenges students to hold Barack Obama accountable for his actions and decisions while in office. Hold him responsible for the promises he made to the citizens of the United States during his campaign.

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