Back to his roots

As many of us are aware, Barack Obama, CC ’83, was in the neighborhood about two weeks ago. It’s a short walk from here to the Apollo Theater (and an even shorter limo ride, I presume). What a prime opportunity to pop into Tom’s for a nostalgic late-night milkshake. Am I right? Not as tempting as one may think, apparently. Just as he has demonstrated many times before, the president seems to have outgrown Columbia.

I’m not looking for Air Force One to fly him in for every football game. I’m not expecting him and Michelle to tend the grill and pass out free beers at Homecoming. I’m not even looking for commencement speeches. From a realistic student’s perspective, pouting about President Obama’s lack of involvement in the Columbia community, although tempting, seems unbearably infantile. But from the vantage point of a political strategist, he has written us off too soon for his own good—we could very well be a good population of voters for Obama this year.

Although they’ve been on an upswing over recent months, Obama’s approval ratings are still a matter of concern­—23 percent of those polled strongly approve of his presidency while 37 percent strongly disapprove. Voters continue to trust Republicans significantly more than they trust Democrats on the number-one issue of the day: the economy. In short, current data projects that November will be more of a toss-up than Obama would prefer.

The secret to ensuring reelection is hiding in plain sight. Young voters and student volunteers largely carried Obama’s 2008 efforts—an election year that showcased the second-largest young voter turnout in the history of the United States. His approval ratings in the 18-to-29-year-old age bracket have taken a nosedive since then (from 70 percent in April 2008 to 46 percent in December 2011), mostly due to dissatisfaction with the job market. According to a relatively recent New York Times article (“Students Lose Zeal for Aiding Obama Again,” Nov. 14, 2011), it’s not that this demographic is shifting over to vote Republican—the generalized youth in 2012 is becoming politically apathetic.

Convincing every young voter to fall as deeply in love with Obama as he or she was four years ago would be impossible, but we Columbians may be an easier sell than most. While we are not the world’s greatest proponents of school spirit, it seems a natural human inclination to favor candidates we feel connected to. The 28,000 combined undergraduate and graduate students, along with Columbia’s thousands of alumni, could make a serious impact in results if every registered voter turned out this coming fall.

While many Columbians have watertight political beliefs, I’d hazard a guess that a decent chunk of undecided students could be swayed to support Obama if he showed up on campus the next time he was in the neighborhood and delivered a really bang-up speech. He’s our alumnus—we want him to succeed, if only from a purely selfish, apolitical standpoint. Having a respected two-term president emerge from the same institution we attend is a credit to the caliber of the education we receive and the types of students it produces. This effect should also ostensibly take hold for alumni, who are much more likely to vote Republican than students. If Obama presents himself as dedicated to their school, this sense of camaraderie could very well inspire some undecided graduates who may have otherwise tended conservative to change their tune.

Chances are, few (if any) former Obama supporters are personally offended by his apparent lack of interest in the Columbia community to the point that they will vote Republican in 2012 for this reason alone. However, continuing to leave his alma mater untapped could rob the president of a few thousand undecided votes in 2012. Next time he finds himself down the street, Obama would be advised to pop over and shake some hands—making a few easy friends in a receptive community never hurt anybody.

The author is a Columbia College sophomore majoring in statistics and psychology. She is a Spectator associate copy editor.