News;
3.14.2012 I The Blue Banner I
Obama support dwindles among youth voters
Fewer young voters expected to
volunteer on campaign, participate
Photo courtesy of White House
Support for Obama among voters ages 18-29 appears to have
weakened since 2008, according to recent election polls. Fewer
young voters also plan to volunteer for the Obama campaign
in the 2012 presidential election, according to polls.
Sidney Seizer
ssetzer@unca.edu - Staff Writer
President Obama’s support
for the 2012 election year may
be declining, especially when
it comes to younger voters, but
UNC Asheville students say
they feel differently.
In 2008, 64 percent of young
voters, ages 18-29, said they
would vote in the presidential
election, according to a Harvard
University Institute of Politics
survey on young Americans’
attitudes toward politics. This
year, only 51 percent said the
same.
Many young volunteers sup
ported the Obama campaign in
the 2008 election; however 75
percent of young people said
they would not be likely to vol
unteer for the Obama campaign
this year.
Hannah Montgomery is a
senior political science stu
dent and the vice president of
College Democrats at UNCA.
“I voted in the 2008 election.
It was a really exciting time,
because I was a first semester
freshman and politics had al
ways been important to me,
but that year I felt like I could
really make a change and help
the campaign,” Montgomery-
said. “I have noticed a little less
enthusiasm for the presidential
election this year than I saw in
2008, but I personally am not
any less excited.”
Montgomery said she volun
teered multiple hours for the
Obama campaign in 2008, but
because there were so many
volunteers, she ended up doing
even more for North Carolina
Sen. Kay Hagan.
“College Democrats made it
possible for me to make a ton of
phone calls for the campaigns,
canvass neighborhoods and go
to candidate meet and greets,”
said Montgomery. “After Kay
Hagan won the election, she
personally called me to thank
me for all my hard work. That
was a really amazing moment
for me and really solidified my
choice of political science as
my major, because it made me
realize how much of an impact I
could have even as an 18-year-
old college freshman.”
However, the excitement sur
rounding the 2008 presiden
tial election was much differ
ent than the one approaching,
Montgomery said.
“When Obama was running
the first time, the financial cri
sis and recession was just be
ginning, and people, especially
young people, weren’t really
sure how it was going to affect
them. After four years though,
everyone has been affected in
some way by the state of the
economy, which always makes
people less trusting of their gov
ernment,” Montgomery said.
Roth Doyle, a senior envi
ronmental science student
at UNCA, said he had similar
see OBAMA on page 4
Broadway purchase presents new ideas for cleanup, gardening
Jackie Starkey
istarkey@unca.edu
Asst. News Editor
UNC Asheville’s purchase of
property along Broadway Street
brings a chance for students to
get their hands dirty in a com
munity cleanup along Reeds
Creek Greenway on March 31.
The cleanup, organized by
the UNCA Facilities Manage
ment department, will place
fresh greenery along the road
and creek bed, according to
UNCA Landscape Director
Melissa Acker.
“What we are trying to ac
complish is to plant along the
road,” Acker said, “Providing
a buffer for the neighborhood,
and working along the creek to
remove invasive (plants).”
Volunteers will plant 68 trees
on the property, plant hundreds
of evergreens, spread mulch
and brush cut non-native plants
from the creekside.
Acker said she hopes for at
least a hundred volunteers from
UNCA students and faculty and
members of the Montford and
the surrounding communities.
Additionally, UNCA’s Student
Government Association will
participate in celebration of the
last day of Greenfest.
“We are hoping to get stu
dents involved in the planting
of native species,” Acker said.
“But that will be a long-term
project.”
The 525 Broadway location,
purchased through the UNCA
Foundation and as a gift from
TD Bank, provides the UNCA
campus with an additional 8.9
acres. The land was previously
cleared of trees and shrubbery
to make room for the proposed
$25 million children’s health
museum. Health Adventure.
“The clearing was very trau
matic for the neighbors,” Acker
said. “It was traumatic to see all
the green space disappear.”
Acker said the new ever
greens will allow some cover
for the Montford neighborhood
and the property itself.
“It’s an innovative approach
to bring the community togeth
er,” said local gardener and
volunteer, Nick Merrill. “I’d
love to get my hands dirty.”
UNCA has no plans for im
mediate development of the
property according to Director
of Design and Construction
Don Gordon.
“The opportunity to purchase
presented itself,” Gordon said.
“UNCA does not often get the
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