Anybody got any extra graduation tickets?
Yes, I’m going over to the dark side (some would say I’m already there, I do work for The Reveille).
Although I’m only a sophomore, I’m really hoping to see spring commencement this year.
News flash for those of you who’ve been living under a rock, much to the dismay of the liberal population on campus, President George W. Bush is scheduled to speak at spring commencement May 21.
Now many of my friends and colleagues around campus might find this a shock, but I’m overjoyed Bush is coming to our fine campus.
After all, I was a Young Republican in high school.
But, people change, and although I’m not the biggest Bush fan, I won’t be bashing him today.
But not for the reasons you would think.
I have no love for Bush. I don’t agree with a lot of the stuff he has to say (in fact I find some of it slightly humorous) however, I do respect the office of the President of the United States of America.
And I also respect Bush. I don’t think he’ll be our next President, but I’m more concerned with getting people out to vote for their candidate than imposing my own personal views on an unwitting public.
So in classic fashion, I’m going to tell you how Bush’s coming to LSU makes your vote all the more important.
Sure, he’s trying to garner more votes from the area. A majority of the graduates on May 21 will probably be from Louisiana, and Bush is coming to talk to their parents, to persuade the surrounding, generally conservative public to vote for him.
According to figures on LSU’s Office of Budget and Planning Web site, 75 percent of the students enrolled are white. The fact that they’re graduating from college and care enough to come to graduation puts a generalized majority of the graduates into Bush’s demographic.
He won the state by 8 percentage points in 2000, and Louisiana is considered to be a possible swing state.
John Kerry is also on the campaign trail, criss-crossing the country.
He’s already been to Louisiana several times since his claiming of the nomination earlier in the year, and I don’t doubt that he’ll be back.
Kerry will make a few more stops through the state (although his Web site doesn’t say when) and is obviously trying to pick off a few states from a South that Bush dominated in the 2000 election.
So what does all this mean to the average voter?
Your vote counts.
Not that it didn’t before, but if you’re like me and from a state like Mississippi (where Bush won by more than 170,000 votes in 2000), voting for Kerry might seem a little more like David vs. Goliath.
Bush and Kerry will spend time campaigning for Louisiana’s electoral votes, which allows you to hear all sides of the issue and make an informed, extra-important choice come November.
Bush isn’t coming to LSU’s commencement because he wants to give a rousing speech, he’s coming because he feels there’s a need for some extra firepower here.
Congratulations, Louisiana is a swing state, and as we learned in 2000, swing states can decide an entire election.
According to an April 1 Reveille article, graduates receive four tickets apiece to spring commencement, so, if anyone wants to include a lowly Reveille Opinion Editor in their “allotment,” let me know. I promise to keep my peace.
I’d just like to hear what he has to say. And liberal, conservative or moderate, you should to.