Election Season Ends Today
Katrina Espiritu

Today, students, faculty, and staff cast their votes to elect the leader that they want to see govern the country for the next four years.

Political scientists have stated that this election is one of the most important elections in the history of the United States. The 2000 Presidential Election was separated by 543,985 popular votes, according to the Federal Commission. The latest polls leading up to the election day had Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush neck and neck.

Kerry and Bush show similarities and differences in their platform stance. Three important issues in their debates were Iraq, Homeland Security, and stem-cell research.

September 11, 2001 is a crucial part of this election, causing a number of people, who do not normally put a high regard into politics, to be more familiar with the presidential candidates running for office. September 11th is one of Bush's justifying reasons for going to war with Iraq, saying in the September 30th presidential debate against Kerry, "In Iraq, we saw a threat, and we realized that fater September the 11th, we must take threats seriously, before they fully materialize. Saddam Hussein nos sits in a prison cell. America and the world are safer for it. We continue to pursue our policy of disrupting those who proliferate weapons of mass destruction."

Later in the debate Kerry fired back at Bush. "Saddam Hussein didn't attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us. And when we had Osama bin Laden cornered in the mountains of Tora Bora, 1,000 of his cohorts with him in those mountains. With the American military forces nearby and in the field, we didn't use the best trained tropps in the world to go kill the world's number one criminal and terrorist," he said.

According to an article on MSNBC.com, Kerry's plans regarding Homeland Security include, "improving the country's ability to track down terrorists by overhauling the intelligence community and how these agenicies interact; plug security holes at airports, seaports and borders; assess and resolve vulnerabilities within critical infrastructure sectors, such as energy, chemical and mass transportation; provide better support to first responders such as police, medical and fire department personnel; and revamp the Patriot Act to guard against what he sees as infringements on civil liberties."

Unlike Kerry, Bush supports every current aspect of the Patriot Act and wants to expand it when it comes up for renewal.

In the stem-cell research issue, Kerry believes that science should be pursued to further improve and discover treatment for diseases and medical problems such as Alzheimer's diseases, Parkinson's Disease, and spinal cord injuries. Famouse figures such as Michael J. Fox, Ronald Reagan Jr., and the late Christopher Reeve supported Kerry's stance in the stem-cell research. Kerry believes that the use of embryonic stem-cells should be unlimited until cures are found for the diseases.

Bush was the first president to fund stem-cell research. In this issue, his main concern is the balance between ethics and science. Bush would like to see new developments of cures, however he refuses to expand further than he already has.

Kassie Rubico, a UMASS Lowell junior, weighed in on why she likes Bush. " I am voting for President Bush for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one would have to be homeland security. I think we need a strong president with a concise plan where terrorism is concerned. Kerry has not shown this quality in his campaign for the presidency.I feel the most important role of our government is the safety and freedom of our country," said Rubico.

Political Science professor Dr. Jeffrey Gerson is voting for Kerry for domestic issues. "I am voting for Kerry. It wasn't based on Iraq or the foreign policy because the candidates are not different on issues. I support the idea of multilateralism. My decision was based on domestic policy decisions, including issues such as energy and the environment. Kerry has a definite plan. I am concerned about Supreme Court Justices, and Bush might appoint justices who are pro-life."

UML senior, Abby Hoyt supports Bush, "I am for low taxes. I supported his reasons for going to war in Iraq, so I feel more safe and secure with him in office. He believes in anti-abortion. I support a president with a high moral standard. I am also for small governments and Bush is very regimented, unlike Kerry, who is all over.

Nick Atlas is a UML junior who is voting for Kerry. "I am voting for Kerry, I am a fiscal conservative, social liberal. I believe we need to be financially responsible as a nation. Currently, we have the largest deficit in the history. Our current administration is fiscally irresponsible. I'm a social liberal. I believe that people should be able to do whatever with their lives just as long as they do not hurt anyone else. I do not dislike Kerry. I am not enthusiastically pro-Kerry. I believe he is a middle-of-the-road candidate, but he is better than the worst candidate, which is our president."