GV PS

Matt Blain and Andy Richardson's election survey of GVSU students

During mid-term election week, you may have noticed the frontpage of The Lanthorn featuring Matt and Andy's survey results.  Here are a few of their thoughts about the results:

"From October 27 through November 1, we conducted a survey seeking to understand and evaluate various political attitudes, feelings and beliefs of the student population. With the assistance of Professor Whitt Kilburn, this survey (believed to be the first of its kind here at GVSU) sought study a variety of current issues that have or will affect the student body.  The survey consisted of 1000 randomly selected students from Grand Valley State.  It is important to reference that no weights or predetermined specifics were used to draw the sample and every student was equally likely to be sampled for this project.

77.5% of GVSU students reported being registered to vote, which is high compared to the 71% national average (U.S. Census Bureau).  Of the 41 that responded they were not registered to vote, a full 41 also noted that they were too young to vote in 2008.  Perhaps when considering age, we will see that GVSU student voting registration is even higher than the national average.  Participating in elections is also higher here at GVSU than the national average, 69.5% of students reporting voting in the 2008 election, compared to the 64% reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.  When considering the difficulty that most elections have at getting young voters to get to the polls, it seems the 2008 election shows GVSU student’s performing their civic duties. 

Somewhat surprisingly for a college campus (as most have the perceived bias of being liberally oriented) the researchers have found that 66 (36.3%) respondents answered that they considered themselves to be Republicans.  This was more than both Democrats (58, 31.8%) and Independents (58, 31.8%).  The researchers hypothesize that this number has much to do with the conservative leanings of West Michigan in general.  Looking at election returns in 2008 for Ottawa County, 61% went for John McCain, while 37% voted for Barack Obama.  It is interesting to see that students, even with the perception of being liberal during college years, more closely follow the trends of the greater West Michigan area.  We will see that Obama’s approval also follows a similar the trend of partisan alignment.

The average grade given to Obama from Republican students was 1.56 (4 point scale) and 2.897 by Democrat students.  Independents rounded out the average grade by awarding Obama a 2.069 GPA.  There is an obvious divide among GVSU students on Obama’s performance thus far in the Oval office.  The survey also indicated that those who think the country is headed in the wrong direction (as opposed to the right direction) believe so more strongly than students who think we are headed on the right path.  Only 4.5% of students responded that they “strongly believe that under Obama, the country is headed in the right direction.”  This compared to 17.9% of those who think the country is strongly headed in the wrong direction.  This perhaps tells the story of the 2010 election fallout for Democrats.  GVSU looks to be representative for the feelings nationwide about the current administration.

The demographic results of the survey are representative of the Grand Valley population (as of 2009-2010), which can be seen at the Office of Institutional Analysis department website.  As reported by the OIA, approximately 60% of the student population reports as female with the remaining 40% as male.  Of the 183 responses to the question about age (What is your sex?) 61% (112) described themselves as female with 39% (71) as male.   Regarding the number of graduate vs. undergraduate students represented in the survey, this was also proportionate to the OIA reported numbers.  Nearly 87% of GVSU students are undergraduate students with the remaining 13% at graduate level.  Of the 185 responses to the question asking of this information (Are you currently an undergraduate or a graduate student?), 90% (167) said they were undergraduates with 10% (18) reporting as graduate students.  These results show that although less than 20% (185 total responses out of 1000) of the sample completed the survey, it is still astoundingly representative of the true population at GVSU and the results from the survey can be used to draw inferences about the entire student body."  

For further information on the survey, contact Matt or Andy.   

 

Assessng the Impacts of a Nuclear Iran

Erik Tucker, a former PLS minor who is currently seeking his M.Ed. at GVSU, has recently published an opinion piece entitled, "Weapons of Mass Deterrence: Assessing the Impacts of Nuclear Iran" in Fogged Clarity, which is a new arts review started by West Michigan natives.

Post-debate Punditry

Two of our professors are in the news this morning offering commentary on the latest and final presidential debate of 2008:

Dr. Erika King in the Grand Rapids Press

The economy continues to dominate voter interest, a preoccupation that has played to Obama's advantage on this issue for several weeks.

That's why political analysts deemed the debate a critical opportunity for McCain to somehow change the momentum of the race.

King didn't see it.

"I don't see it changing the essential dynamics of the race. The dreadful situation with the economy seems to be in every public opinion poll driving voters' thoughts and emotions.

"It's going to be a hard year for Republicans."

Dr. Whitt Kilbur in the Detroit News

"I thought it was a pretty good debate, but I think Senator Obama did the better job. I liked Obama's health care ideas versus Senator McCain's: McCain is going to give a $5,000 tax credit that will go straight to the insurance companies, opening up borders for health care so insurance companies can go to cheapest state and have the least amount of regulations on health care. I liked Obama's plan to spread the wealth around and give 95 percent of people a tax cut."

Dr. den Dulk Discusses Religion and the Presidential Election on C-SPAN

Professor Kevin den Dulk took part in a press conference on C-SPAN this past Monday to discuss the role of religion in the upcoming presidential election. His comments were based on analysis of a major survey that was conducted nationwide in April and early May. Professor den Dulk helped design the survey with several other scholars of religion and politics. You can view video of the press conference.

President Haas's Editorial

In case you missed it last Friday, August 24, GVSU President Thomas Haas had an editorial published in The Detroit News entitled, "Stop blame game, forge solutions for college."

Here are some interesting quotes from the editorial:

"96.5 percent of our students are Michigan residents and almost 40 percent come from Metro Detroit.

Our graduates take up careers in professions for which there is significant demand. Ninety-seven percent of our most recent graduates are employed or in graduate school.

Of those employed, 88 percent are working in Michigan.

Grand Valley remains affordable, and our students are among the state's best qualified. Our tuition rate places us 13th among Michigan's 15 public campuses; our rate of change is lower than the national, Midwest and Michigan averages.

For 11 years in a row, Grand Valley has been named one of the country's 100 best college buys. In every year that we have increased tuition, we have increased financial aid by at least the same amount -- despite the fact that we rank last in state funding per student."

- Detroit News, August 24, 2007 (see link above for full editorial).

Election Roundtable

Election Roundtable

The members of the Grand Valley State community are invited to attend and participate in a roundtable discussion of the upcoming general elections. Experts from the GVSU Political Science faculty will provide their observations about the gubernatorial elections, the midterm congressional elections, the elections and the impact of the war in Iraq, political advertising and the media, and state ballot initiatives.

When: Monday, October 30th from 4:30-5:45
Where: Pere Marquette Room (Kirkhof Center 204)

Participants:

Professor Erika King
Professor Kevin denDulk
Professor Paul Cornish
Professor Robert Stewart-Ingersoll
Professor Donald Zinman

Sponsored by the Department of Political Science and Pi Sigma Alpha

Election year debates

The GVSU Public Policy Institute is sponsoring several candidate and ballot Forums in October 2006 at the Loosemore Auditorium, GVSU DeVos Campus.

Monday, October 23

7:00-8:00pm: 75th State House District
Rev. Robert Dean, Democratic Candidate
Mr. Tim Doyle, Republican Candidate

The 75th State House District includes that part of NE City of Grand Rapids which lies East of Fuller Ave, and SE City of Grand Rapids which lies East of Eastern Ave.

8:10- 9:10pm: 29th State Senate District
Mr. David LaGrand, Democratic Candidate
State Sen. Bill Hardiman, Republican Candidate

The 29th State Senate District includes the Cities of Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Lowell and Cascade, Lowell, and Vergennes and Grattan Townships

Wednesday, October 25

7:00-8:00 pm: 3rd U.S. Congressional District,
Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers, Republican Candidate
Mr. James Rinck, Democratic Candidate

The 3rd Congesssional District includes Kent, Barry and Ionia Counties

8:10-9:10pm: 28th State Senate District
Mr. Albert Abbasse, Democratic Candidate
Mr. Mark Jansen, Republican Candidate

The 28th State Senate District includes the Cities of Wyoming, Grandville, East Grand Rapids, Walker, Rockford and Cedar Springs and the Townships of Northern, Western and Southern Kent County.

Monday, October 30: A Forum on Ballot Proposals 1, 3 4 and 5

7:00-7:10pm: Explanation of Prop 1: Protection of Conservation & Recreation Funds
7:10-7:20pm: Explanation of Proposal 4: Restriction of Govt. Eminent Domain Powers
7:20-8:00pm: Proposal 3: A referendum to allow hunting of Mourning Doves
8:00-9:15pm: Proposal 5: Require Mandatory funding levels: K-12 & College Education

PLS Professors Appear on To The Point

Dr. Erika King and Roger Moiles of the GVSU Political Science Department made a lengthy appearance on the WOOD TV8 show To The Point on Sunday, October 15. Our very own "political gurus," as described by host Rick Albin, discussed the Michigan gubernatorial race between incumbent Governor Jennifer Granholm and challenger Dick DeVos. King and Moiles analyzed the gubernatorial debates as well as recent campaign advertisements.

GVSU Hosts U.S. Senate Debate

GVSU's WGVU public television station hosted the U.S. Senate debate between U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and Sheriff Mike Bouchard on Sunday, October 15. 25 GVSU political science and international relations students comprised the studio audience. The debate was broadcast statewide on Sunday night. Check out the story in Detroit News, featuring comments by our very own Roger Moiles.

Changing Law School Curriculum

Harvard Law is changing their curriculum, with a diminished amount of time spent on traditional courses such as contracts, torts and criminal law. Students will now be required to take courses in international law, legislation and regulation, and a legal problem solving course that will focus on resolving client needs. For the full story, check out the story at the New York Times (registration required).