Mock election: Who’s Rick Scott and Charlie Crist?

Ezita Rodriguez/Contributing Writer

The University’s American Political Science Association conducted a mock gubernatorial last week among University students. The results: more than half of voters selected an ‘other’ option instead of candidates Republican Rick Scott or Democrat Charlie Crist.

Of 993 votes, 171 voted for Scott, 235 voted for Crist and 587 voted for ‘other.’

Charlie Crist and Rick Scott have both been Fla. governors within the last decade. Some students were voting without  knowledge of either candidate which could have damaged results.

“A lot of students asked who they were,” said Lucas Miranda, president of Pi Sigma Alpha and a senior majoring in political science and international relations.

Many students also claimed no party affiliation.

Polling stations were placed in front of the Graham Center and Green Library on Feb. 3 and 4.

“I think given the distance from the actual election, my suspicion is the number of those who chose ‘other’ may come down later in the year ,” said Sean Walsh, advisor of Pi Sigma Alpha and political science professor.

“I think given the distance from the actual election, my suspicion is the number of those who chose ‘other’ may come down later in the year ,” said Sean Walsh, advisor of Pi Sigma Alpha and political science professor.

The association plans on conducting the same simulated election a month before the actual Nov. 4 gubernatorial election date.

It also gauged student knowledge on on-campus electronic cigarette policies.

Most students marked that smoking electronic cigarettes is allowed on campus, however it is prohibited. Most students seemed to be unaware of the 2011 decision to ban smoking including electronic cigarettes and tobacco related devices.

“We wanted to conduct our own numbers of how many students were aware of the policy on electronic cigarettes; we actually got the idea from the story last year in the Beacon,” Walsh said.

“We wanted to conduct our own numbers of how many students were aware of the policy on electronic cigarettes; we actually got the idea from the story last year in the Beacon,” Walsh said.

On the ballot it stated: “Electronic Cigarettes are prohibited on FIU campuses,” in which students had the option of picking true or false. The majority—579 students—picked false.

Students were also asked what the campus policy should be concerning electronic cigarettes. The majority—437 students—believed electronic cigarettes should be permitted on campus.

Some still seem to have the misconception that electronic cigarettes are permitted.

“‘Most people do it, so it must be allowed’ is the common belief,” Miranda said.

The elections are still months away, but Pi Sigma Alpha wanted to see if there was a correlation of state level politics versus campus knowledge.

The results on ‘other’ being the most popular candidate, and the fact many students were unaware that electronic cigarettes are prohibited, was a surprise to Walsh.

– news@fiusm.com