The Pace Chronicle - Volume II, Issue VI

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The Pace Chronicle Pace University, Pleasantville/Briarcliff Manor, NY

Volume II, Issue VI

Mitt Romney

www.PaceChronicle.com

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Barack Obama Christiana Lloyd

Health Editor CLloyd@PaceChronicle.com

Photos

from ABC.com

Governor Mitt Romney holds the Republician ticket for the 2012 election.

Willard “Mitt” Romney was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 14, 1947 to Lenore and former governor of Michigan George Romney. He was raised in Michigan along with his older siblings Lynn, Jane, and Scott. Mitt came from a very close knit Christian family and first left home in Michigan for Brigham Young University in Utah where he was valedictorian upon graduation. He also served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France during this time.

When he returned, Mitt married his childhood sweetheart Ann Davis in 1969 and then began to attend Harvard Law School where he earned degrees in both law and the M.B.A program in 1975.

When he finally finished with school, Mitt and his family stayed in Boston where he worked for a management consulting firm and from there started the Brain Capital private investment firm in 1984.

Mitt Romney began getting into politics in 1994 when he ran for the U.S Senate seat in Massachusetts but was defeated

by Ted Kennedy. It was when he took over as president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic

Photos

Games that Mitt took stronger interest in following in his father’s footsteps. After Romney’s tenure in Salt Lake, he went on to become Massachusetts’ governor in 2003.

According to www.mittromney.com, in his time as governor he oversaw the reduction of a three billion dollar deficit and he also signed into law a health care program to provide nearly universal health care for the residents of Massachusetts.

In 2008 he declined to run for the reelection for governor and decided to run for president. He won the primaries in Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Utah before losing the Republican nomination vote to the Senator of Arizona, John McCain.

In 2011 Romney announced the start of his campaign to run once again for president. Romney ran against Rick Perry, Ron Paul, and Jon Huntsman to become the Republican nominee. Romney was the last Republican standing as he began to go head to head with President Barack Obama.

He announced in August 2012 that his running mate for this year’s campaign was to be Paul Ryan, a conservative Representative from Wisconsin.

from Assembly.State.NY.US

Exercise your right to vote.

Photos

from

WhiteHouse.gov

President Barack Obama is up for reelection in the 2012 presidential election.

Barack Obama was born on Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to his mother Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr. Obama’s parents divorced in 1965 when he was two and his father returned to his native home in Kenya.

Obama’s mother remarried in that same year to Lolo Soetoro, and in 1966, the small family moved to Indonesia where Soetoro was from. However, Obama’s mother feared for his safety while living overseas and sent him back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents at the age of 10. Obama’s mother and his little sister Maya came to join him a few years later.

Obama was an excelling student at the esteemed Punahou Academy. He was involved in basketball and graduated an honors student in 1979.

Obama went onto college in Los Angeles at Occidental College for his first two years then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with his degree in political science.

Obama worked in the business sector for two years then transferred to Chicago in 1985 where he worked as a community organizer for low income residents.

He spent a few weeks before entering Harvard Law School in 1988 in Kenya visiting his relatives and his father’s gravesite. His father passed away when Obama was only 21 from a fatal car crash in Kenya.

Obama met his wife Michelle Robinson during a summer internship where she was assigned to be his advisor. He graduated in 1991, magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. Upon graduation he re-

turned to Chicago and began to practice as a civil rights lawyer at the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. During this time he also took a part time job teaching at the University of Chicago Law School.

He and Michelle married Oct. 3, 1992 and several years later created a family, with daughters Malia (born in 1998) and Sasha (born 2001).

Obama became involved in politics while living in Illinois where he ran for a seat in the Illinois State Senate and won the election in 1996. During his time in the Senate he expanded health care services and early childhood programs for those in the poor and working class according to www.barackobama.com. He also became the chairman for the Illinois Health and Human Services Committee.

In 2002 he lost the Democratic primary running for the U.S House of Representatives. He ran again in the 2004 Democratic primary and defeated Daniel Hayes by a 52 percent vote.

In Feb. 2007, Barack Obama announced that he was throwing in his name for the running for the 2008 presidential elections. He became the Democratic nominee over former first lady and U.S New York Senator Hillary Clinton. He defeated Republican nominee John McCain 52.9 to 45.7 percent, winning the 2008 election. President Obama not only became the fourty-fourth president, but the first African-American President of the United States.

President Obama is running for reelection along with Vice president Biden for the 2012 presidency.

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Health

Elections

The Pace Chronicle

Page 2

Ayy Ladies!!: The Impact of the First Lady Jonathan Alvarez

Featured Reporter Jonathan.Alvarez@pace.edu

The role of the first lady is one that is often overlooked. Of course, the president garners the attention because, after all, it is the president. However, one does not simply just elect a president into White House without considering the whole package.

This election term’s leading ladies are Michelle Obama and Ann Romney. As many may already know, Michelle Obama started a campaign in 2010 to end childhood obesity called “Let’s Move.” This program has gained much attention and is creating an impact for healthy eating. Aside from that Michelle Obama has become a fashion icon and a role model for women in her stay at the White House.

Still, some think that the title of first lady makes the program work in the first place.

“If she wasn’t the first lady, she most likely would not have been able to have such an impact,” said freshman biology

Photos

by Alex

Wong/Getty Images and Mark Wilson/Getty Images

First Lady Michelle Obama (left) and Ann Romney (right) giving speeches. major Shawtima Moore. “Take Jodi Rell, a past governor of Connecticut for example. No one has heard of her or her cause.”

The president’s wife is not the only woman hoping to make an impact as first lady. Ann Romney is a breast cancer survivor and has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She is also an avid equestrian and credits the sport as an aid in her recovery of multiple sclerosis. Ann Romney has also been involved in children’s chari-

ties such as the Best Friends organization in Massachusetts.

However, Mrs. Romney’s deeds were not as well known pre-election.

“I hardly knew who Ann Romney was prior to the campaign,” said freshman nursing major Gabriel Jackson.

In the past, women like Jackie Kennedy and Eleanor Roosevelt both gained acclaim for their influence as a first lady. Eleanor Roosevelt constantly advocated

for civil rights and Jackie Kennedy became a fashion icon as she resided in the White House.

“It’s the title that makes them important,” said Moore. “When the husband has the title (of president), it basically puts them on the map.”

As the election campaign draws to an end, some may take into account the impact the first lady may have with her role in the Capitol. However, some do not even have an interest in who the first lady may be.

“There is no need to take into account the first ladies,” Moore said. “The first lady does not have the same role as the president does.”

Although many may not take the leading ladies into much consideration, there is no denying that they will play a role in the White House.

“They may not be taken into as high of a regard as the president, but they are still the wife,” Jackson said. “In the end, they spend a lot of time with the president and can influence some of his decisions.”

Joe Biden Versus Paul Ryan Jordan Beberman

The Pace Chronicle Editorial Staff Ali Silver

Editor-in-Chief

Alexandra.R.Silver@pace.edu Tafasha Pitt Gabrielle Saulsbery Managing Editor Layout/Web Editor Olivia Mapplethorpe Copy Editor

Alexandria Tribble Copy Editor

Heather Askildsen Arthur Augustyn Feature Editor News Editor Samantha Finch Christiana Lloyd Entertainment Editor Health Editor Ebony Turner Opinion Editor

CJ Dudek Sports Editor

Operational Staff Christine Gramlich Business Manager Arthur Augustyn Distribution Prof. Michael Perrota Faculty Advisor mperrota@PaceChonicle.com

Contributors

Andrew Acosta Andrew.Acosta@pace.edu Jonathan Alvarez Jonathan.Alvarez@pace.edu Jordan Beberman Jordan.Beberman@pace.edu Kevin Bencosme Kevin.Bencosme@pace.edu Lindsay Burgess Lindsay.Burgess@pace.edu Andreas Christou Andreas.E.Christou@pace.edu Christopher D’Erasmo Christopher.D’Erasmo@pace.edu Patrick Dehahn Patrick.G.Dehahn@pace.edu

Featured Reporter Jordan.Beberman@pace.edu

When looking at the candidates and where they stand on each issue and how they are going to represent the United States many people forget to consider their vice presidential nomination. The vice president is just as important as the president because they would be the person who takes over if anything were to happen to the president.

For the 2012 election, the two people running for the vice presidential position is incumbent Vice President Joe Biden and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.

Vice President Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and moved to Delaware. Biden graduated from The University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School. At age 29, Biden became the youngest member of the Senate and continued as a member of the Senate for 36 years until being sworn in as Vice President in 2009.

Joe Biden is vice president alongside President Barack Obama for the Democratic Party.

Congressman Paul Ryan was born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin. Ryan attended the University of Miami in Ohio where he earned his undergraduate degree.

Ryan is currently serving his seventh term as congressman where he is chairman of the House Budget Committee, and senior member of the House Ways and Mean Committee.

Paul Ryan is running to be vice president for Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for the Republican Party.

Both vice presidential candi-

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Jaclyn Drummond Jaclyn.Drummond@pace.edu Lamar Francis Lamar.Francis@pace.edu Michael Fridman Michael.Fridman@pace.edu Deborah Ann Gagne Deborah.A.Gagne@pace.edu Izabela Laskowska Izabela.Laskowska@pace.edu Erin O’Gorman Erin.M.OGorman@pace.edu Isamar Pion Isamar.Pion@pace.edu

Photos

from

DailyNews.com

Vice Presidential candidates Paul Ryan (left) and Joe Biden (right). dates feel very differently about each of the issues.

When it comes to health care Vice President Biden wants to ensure all people under the age of 26 receive health care under their family’s health care plan. He would also like to create a pool of private plans similar to that for federal workers.

Biden also fully supports Obamacare, which is currently being implemented.

Paul Ryan has proposed the Ryan Act, which would replace Medicare with a voucher-based system to allow seniors to buy health insurance from private companies. This would not allow people under the age of 26 to be covered under their family’s health care plan.

When considering the current economy, Joe Biden would like to repeal the Bush tax cuts for top one percent of earners, extend middle-class cuts and freeze estate taxes at 2009 levels. He also supports alternative minimum tax for the middle class but has voted

against full repeal.

Conversely, Paul Ryan would like to implement tax cuts for all income levels. This would mean no income tax on capital gains, dividends, and interest, no corporate income tax, estate tax or alternative minimum tax. He would also like to privatize Social Security, tax breaks for employersponsored health insurance.

Another controversial issue being dealt with is immigration.

Joe Biden’s position on immigration is he would like to legalize undocumented immigrants, which requires the learning English and paying fines. He would also like to toughen penalties for employers who hire undocumented immigrants.

Paul Ryan on the other hand opposes any form of forgiveness for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S, and he would like better border security and a more up-to-date employee verification system.

Lastly, the topic of gay marriage and abortion. Joe Biden

strongly supports gay marriage and Roe v. Wade but opposes public funding for abortion. Paul Ryan is strongly opposed to gay marriage and would like to overturn Roe v. Wade.

However, there are some issues where their positions are the same.

Both candidates support the death penalty, and they also both supported the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act. The vice presidential candidate could also make or break an election, many people running for president will choose their vice president not only based on their ability to serve this country but also how they will appeal to the American people and how they will balance out the president. The vice president is not something to overlook; it is very crucial when considering who citizens would like to represent and serve the United States of America.

Daniel Revkin Daniel.Revkin@pace.edu Richard Szkodzinski Richard.L.Szkodzinski@pace.edu

The Pace Chronicle is published by Trumbull Printing: (203) 261-2548 Written and edited by the students of Pace University, The Pace Chronicle is published weekly during the academic year. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of administration, faculty and The Pace Chronicle staff.

The Pace Chronicle encourages responses to the opinions expressed herein, and welcomes letters and comments. The Pace Chronicle cannot guarantee publication of letters to the editor or unsolicited manuscripts, and reserves the right to edit or comment editorially on them.

Appearance of an advertisement in The Pace Chronicle does not imply endorsements by the members of the editorial board, the advisor, or Pace University of the products or services offered. All photos and copyrights reserved unless otherwise indicated. Subscription and advertising rates available upon request.

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Health

The Pace Chronicle

Page 3

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Elections

Fighting Against the One-Party System: Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party

Arthur Augustyn Feature Editor

AAugustyn@PaceChronicle.com

Ron Paul recently said in an interview with CNBC that America doesn’t need a third party, it needs a second party.

“There is essentially no difference from one administration to another no matter what the platforms are,” said Ron Paul on CNBC’s Futures Now segment.

Ron Paul is a registered Republican but has gained the reputation of being very critical of his party. In the Republican debates last year, Paul argued that he was the only conservative candidate on the stage since many of the other Republicans running for the presidential nomination were in favor of costly government endeavors such as the war in Afghanistan.

The Libertarian party has been viewed as a response to these criticisms. Although the official party was formed 40 years ago in 1971, it has gained rapid membership and media attention in the past few years.

The viewpoints of the party are best understood in contrast

to Republicans and Democrats.

There are generally two overarching categories for each party: fiscal and social issues and each party is either conservative or liberal. Republicans are fiscally and socially conservative. Democrats are fiscally and socially liberal.

Libertarians are fiscally conservative but socially liberal. In general they believe the best government is a small government.

This means that Libertarians want to scale back all government involvement in American life. Social issues Libertarians support include: legalizing marijuana, legalizing prostitution, legalizing gambling and removing restrictions on homosexuality and gay marriage. Fiscal issues Libertarians support include: fair tax (removing all taxes except for a baseline consumption tax on retail goods), eliminating the IRS and removing government intervention in the economy such as minimum wage laws or the bailouts on the auto and bank industries.

For the election this year, the Libertarian party has nominated Gary Johnson, an outspoken Governor of New Mexico who

switched his affiliation from Republican to Libertarian in 2011.

For a long time, Ron Paul was the most popular voice on Libertarian issues but Johnson’s campaign has quickly launched him into the political spotlight. Johnson shares many of the same criticisms of the current presidential nominees.

On Sept. 11 Johnson held an “Ask Me Anything” session on the social news website Reddit. com. In the discussion he shared many of his political viewpoints and his concerns with Romney and Obama.

“Either one of them is going to result in an increased police state, continued state of war, and continued unsustainable debt and spending,” said Johnson on Reddit.

Johnson has released various video advertisements on YouTube that are highly critical of the political contradictions in the current administrations.

In one video promoting the legalization of marijuana, Johnson mentions that President Obama himself has admitted to smoking marijuana. Johnson attacked the President for denying that right to all citizens even though he him-

Aletnatives in the Political: Third Parties or not Voting at All

Kevin Bencosme Featured Reporteer

Kevin.Bencosme@pace.edu

As campaigns get more negative, with ads running everyday about what the other candidate is doing wrong and why you shouldn’t vote for them, Americans are getting turned off to politics.

Many Americans today are looking for an alternative to the usual Democrats vs. Republicans.

There are many third parties, but the struggle they face is to get enough attention and recognition to make an impact or get on the ballot often leaves them well behind in the election.

Another choice that many Americans are taking is the decision to not vote at all, which is playing an enormous role in elections and the United States today.

Many of these third parties have a varied take on issues and solutions for problems our country is facing, and there are some citizens that do support these parties.

The biggest problems these third candidates endure is the struggle to achieve the 15 percent needed to appear in fall presidential debates.

They also have a major need to raise funds and create leverage with limited resources. Some of the better established third parties are the Libertarian Party, Green Party, Constitution Party, Independent Party, and the Americans Elect Party.

Former Governor Gary Johnson is running with former judge Jim Gary for the Libertarian Party on the theme, “Liberty Will Win”.

The Libertarian Party’s mission statement is, “broaden the parameters of the public policy debate of current topics in the national arena. We look to enlighten the population about civil liberties, free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values. It is our aim to increase the amount of discussion and involvement regarding allimportant issues”.

Another example is the Green Party who has Jill Stein running for them who has a history of being the Green-Rainbow Party candidate for governor in 2002.

One of the key beliefs of the Green Party is increasing public participation at every level of the government.

Jill Stein and her running mate Cheri Honkala tried taking part in the presidential debate that took place at Hofstra University on Oct. 16, but were not let in and kicked off campus.

This is just an example of the struggle these third parties face, but the political world is never a sure thing; at any minute these parties can pick up steam and make a difference and perhaps, one day, be in close contest with the Democratic and Republican Party.

There are many Americans today who are choosing not to vote over the two more well-known candidates that are running, Governor Mitt Romney for the Republican Party and current President Obama for the Democratic Party. The California Voter Foundation (CFV) released results of a statewide survey on the attitudes of infrequent and non-voters. 28 percent of infrequent voters said

that they are too busy and there are others that don’t care or are unenthusiastic about it.

The survey found that nonvoters are mostly young, single, less educated, and more likely to be of an ethnic minority than infrequent and frequent voters.

Junior information technology major Matt Olsner considers himself an Independent/Other Party supporter.

“I don’t agree entirely with either major political groups and I don’t think people vote because they feel that their individual votes won’t make a difference,” said Olsner.

Senior art history major Jaclyn Derummond said, “It is [the election] a grotesque popularity race where you don’t know who is telling the truth or who is lying and it is all about image.”

This is some of the general feelings many Americans also share.

In 2008 only 62.2 percent of the population of the United States voted in in the presidential election, which was seen as a high-turnout rate for voting.

However, the percent of voters still cannot be compared to the percentage rates.

Countries like Australia have a 95 percent voter turnout and even the South American country of Chile has a 93 percent voter turnout rate.

There is no question that many citizens are opting out of their right to vote, and this raises a question for the United States and politics in the country today.

self has participated in an illegal activity without ramifications.

Libertarians differ the most from Republicans and Democrats on the issue of foreign policy.

Whereas Republicans and Democrats pick and choose various conflicts and wars they support, Libertarians are strictly antiinterventionists. This political viewpoint was very prevalent in America during the early twentieth century but has been mostly forgotten about since the country emerged as a global world power. Johnson has voiced what he would do with the war in Afghanistan if he were elected president.

“Withdraw immediately.

Bring the troops home,” said Johnson on Reddit. Johnson has also explained that he would remove America’s presence in northern African countries such as Egypt and Libya. He would also scale back the number of military bases around the world.

Today these viewpoints are considered radical, but it wasn’t that long ago where the assumption was America would not be involved in other countries affairs.

Although the Libertarian party and Johnson specifically have

gained a significant amount of internet attention, their pursuits have been ignored by most media outlets. Johnson, along with other third party candidates, has also been denied the opportunity to speak at the Presidential debates.

Many political observers compare Johnson to Ralph Nader, the green party’s candidate for the presidential elections of 2000, 2004 and 2008. Nader never came close to winning a single state, but arguably pulled votes from the Republican and Democrat nominees. Nader has been cited as the reason Al Gore lost the 2000 election in Florida, although Nader denies this claim.

Johnson has the ability to pull votes from both Mitt Romney and President Obama. Some political commentators say that voting for Johnson or any third party is wasting a vote on a candidate who clearly will not win, Johnson disagrees.

“A wasted vote, is voting for someone that you don’t believe in,” said Johnson on Reddit, “if Obama or Romney are spoiled, they have themselves to blame.”

Swing States

Photos

from

CBSNews.com

There are 9 major swing states in the 2012 election. They will play an important role in the election come Nov. 6th.

Andrew Acosta Featured Reporteer

Andrew.Acosta@pace.edu

With the Presidential election coming up in less than two weeks, both candidates are traveling the United States in attempt to persuade citizens to vote for them.

Their focus is not based on states that tend to vote in one direction or the other, but rather to sway the swing states to vote for them. Swing states are states that may vote either way and are not typically loyal to one party, thus becoming the battleground of the 2012 election.

In this election, there are nine main swing states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Depending on how they vote, these states can change the entire election.

Many students are well aware of some of the swing states but are surprised when they find out how many swing states there actually are. Junior nursing major Lauren Alves feels that swing states are essential to the election.

“Swing states are important even though we cannot predict the outcome, the swing states make it so anyone can win,” said Alves. “Otherwise if most states voted one way or another it would not be a close race and the elec-

tion itself would be meaningless.”

Not everyone feels that swing states are beneficial to an election. The idea behind this is that it is not fair that most of the election is determined by a few states.

Junior communications and film studies major Laura Picozzi, feels that the system is outdated and needs to change.

“Swing states take away from the election. Candidates spend all their time and money focusing on certain states while the position of the presidency affects many more than just those nine states,” said Picozzi.

While swing states do seem to get more attention it is only because any swing state can make or break an election.

Similar to the controversy from eight years ago when Florida voted Republican and caused a huge issue with confusing voting applications and a recount, many people including Picozzi feel this system needs to be updated so everyone is focused on equally.

It is clear that both President Obama and Governor Romney are going to be spending most of their time in these states in the last stretch of the election. By following these states and looking for any political favor, we can almost get a glimpse of who might be running the country for the next four years.

Health

Elections

The Pace Chronicle

Page 4

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Immigration and The Latino Vote and Immigration the 2012 Election Isamar Pion

Featured Reporter Isamar.Pion@pace.edu

Photos

from

FairImmigration.org

Immigration is one of the many issues of the 2012 election.

Izabela Laskowska Featured Reporter

Izabela.Laskowska@pace.edu

Since the beginning of its existence, the United States of America has been founded and developed by immigrants, thus later creating an enormous melting pot of various cultures.

“America has been a nation of immigrants for many generations.

People have come here seeking better opportunity, while escaping various restrictions and persecutions in their home countries,” said Kostyantyn Sukhovarov, a logistics manager from Vintus Wines located in Pleasantville.

With Election Day right around the corner, immigration has become one of the top priority issues for numerous individuals during this presidential campaign season. President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney have profoundly different objectives in regards to the issue of immigration in this nation.

“We need to fix a broken immigration system,” said President Obama during the second presidential debate held in Hofstra University on Oct.16.

President Obama has made the immigration issue a priority for his second term to convince Congress to pass a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform.

According to the Barack Obama campaign website, the president proposed a rule to keep families together by allowing certain undocumented spouses and children of United States citizens to apply for legal status from within the country.

In the meantime, also according to the website, he worked to deport criminals and recent illegal arrivals back to their countries rather than minors and families who were already settled.

This works hand in hand with the D.R.E.A.M. Act, which allows individuals who came to the United States before the age of sixteen, who went to school and/or military, temporary shield from deportation and have access to work authorization.

“Those who prove themselves and can help make this country grow should be given a chance to legally prosper in this nation of opportunity,” said sophomore political science major Kevin Bencosme-Abreu in response to the Oct. 16 presidential debate.

He agrees with the president on

the notion that illegal immigrants have come to this nation in search of a better life, and that we can provide one for them.

Governor Mitt Romney looks at the issue from an economic perspective. He stated that “We [the United States] do not grant enough visas to high-skill job creators and innovators our economy needs to make up for labor shortages and gaps in skills.”

According to his campaign website, Governor Romney claims that he will implement a national immigration strategy which will boost the U.S. economy, ensure security, keep families together, address the issue of illegal immigration in a “civil and resolute manner”, as well as carry on the tradition of the United States being a nation of immigrants.

Governor Romney is concerned with the poorly-guarded Mexican border, which allows numerous illegal immigrants to enter the United States, including the possibility of violent cartel members being among them.

If he was voted as president, his plans regarding immigration include attracting more highlyskilled immigrants, making the temporary worker visa system functional, securing the border using a high-tech fence, discouraging illegal immigration through mandatory employment verification system, fully enforcing federal immigration law, and forbidding amnesty.

Both candidates have made claims against one another in regards of immigration. For example, Governor Romney stresses the message that President Obama not only failed to secure the Mexican border, but also lied about tackling immigration during his first year in office, thus exhibiting “one more broken promise.”

President Obama, on the other hand, enforces the message that Governor Romney would impose the rule of “self-deportation”, as well as refuses to provide an answer whether or not he would “resume deportation of immigrants who came here as children.”

Clearly, the issue of immigration wages differently in the eyes of the two presidential candidates. Their proposed plans and positions will affect not only the way many Americans will vote on Election Day, but also the path the United States will take starting next year.

The Latino vote will be a key factor in who will be the next president of the United States of America. Both President Obama and Governor Romney have clearly recognized the importance of the Latino vote.

Recent polls have revealed that the Latino vote will greatly impact the results of the 2012 election, and will determine which way many of the swing states will go.

Arizona has been in and out of the swing state pile during this election but democrats had high

hopes it would turn blue this year because of the increase of Latino voter’s registration. According to Latino Politics, Arizona tends to be overwhelmingly democratic.

If states that have historically aligned with a specific party start to become swing states or go the other way, the change could have significant effects to the political cultural in the United States.

“If Latino American trends continue in Texas, this could mean the extinction of the modern Republican Party in presidential elections,” said junior philosophy major Qadry Harris.

An issue that is a major factor in determining who will get the Latino vote is immigration.

Photos

from

It is also important to understand that “underrepresented minority” and marginalized groups are often grouped as one voting block with limited interest.

“One never hears of one identity or issue that the white population of the US is swayed by. Too often smaller racial and social groups are seen through this narrow lens, when in reality interest and political opinions are varied in Black and Latino groups as they are in the majority population,” said Cornell Craig, Director of Multicultural affairs and Diversity programs.

Latinos are directly affected by the immigration issue. Governor Romney has a strong stance

USAToday.com

The majority of Latinos support Obama. when it comes to illegal immigration. He advocates more funding for immigration enforcement, the creation of a national employment verification system, advocating a high-tech border fence, and new fines for business owners who hire illegal immigrants.

Governor Romney supports allowing illegal immigrants who serve honorably in the U.S. military to be given a path to citizenship according to npr.org.

The governor has had a difficult time influencing and relating to the Latino voters because of his conservative stance on immigration.

For example, Romney has supported the strategy of “selfdeportation.” Essentially, its main purpose is to make illegal immi-

grants lives so miserable that they will choose to leave the country on their own.

On the opposing side, President Obama supports the D.R.E.A.M. Act which will allow illegal immigrants that were brought to the U.S. as children to get higher education and create a path to citizenship. The President also supports more border control. Obama advocates for an immigration reform.

President Obama has also been heavily criticized by Latino voters because many feel lied to because he broke his promise of an immigration reform within his first term.

During his interview on Spanish-language television network Univision, he stated that he takes

responsibility for being naïve in trusting that Republicans, who had supported comprehensive immigration reform in the past, would collaborate. Instead, President Obama claims, they walked away.

In the eyes of many Latino voters, a broken promise is a broken promise.

The Latino vote is a crucial voting block that can no longer be ignored. According to the 2010 Census the Nation’s Hispanic population grew four times faster than total U.S. population.

Politicians are well aware of this growth and they are now paying attention to the issues that Latinos are most effected by.

Health

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Page 5

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Elections

The National Debit Christopher D’Erasmo

Featured Reporter Christopher.D’Erasmo@pace.edu

Today the United States’ Debt Clock sits at 16 trillion dollars and climbing.

Both Obama and Romney have vastly different views on how they will reduce the debt.

However both can agree that if not taken care of then our debt will lead to a depression unlike anything America has ever faced.

According to politifact.com, the national debt in 2008 was 10.6 trillion dollars. Four years after the president’s first term, the national debt grew to the enormous 16 trillion dollar total we face today.

There is no single culprit to explain the increase in debt. Politifact.com states that Obama’s budgets have increased over his tenure as president from 3.27 trillion in 2009 to 3.65 trillion in 2012.

However, the blame is biparti-

Photos

from

CSMonitor.com

National Debt clock in NYC. san. Even though there have been increases in the debt, a republican majority has controlled the Senate and House of Representatives since Jan. 2011. Now that we have the debt, it is important to know what the candidates plan to do about it.

President Obama’s plans to deal with the national debt in-

volve reducing the military budget and increasing the taxes on the rich while keeping taxes for the middle class where they are. According to candidatecomparison. com, the president proposed to freeze annual domestic spending over a five year span. During the second debate Obama stated how he was able to cut faulty spending

in education and was able to cut hundreds of billions out of Medicare by stopping overspending on treatment and medication.

Romney on the other hand plans to cut taxes to the middle class and small businesses. According to candidatecomparison. com Governor Romney said that he would cap non-military dis-

cretionary spending and inflation less than one percent. The idea behind his plan is that if taxes are reduced then companies would hire more people. To reduce the deficit he would drastically cut government spending.

Of course both Mitt Romney and President Obama tried to prove each other’s plans to be faulty. Throughout the three debates, Obama repeatedly stated how Romney’s tax plan will raise an additional seven trillion dollars in debt.

Romney on the other hand stated how Obama’s plan to reduce the deficit will cost the average American three to four thousand extra in taxes. Romney also states how Obama’s regulations in the banking system have made it almost impossible to get a loan because the banks are worried about how they will manage regulations.

Social Security Daniel Revkin

Featured Reporter Daniel.Revkin@pace.edu

Throughout its 77 year existence Social Security has played an integral role in aiding both senior citizens and dependent and disabled children.

Over this span, the scope and budget of the program has also significantly increased, where from 1937 to 2008 the expenditures of the program expanded from 1.2 million to 610 billion as noted by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

This massive expansion can be accounted for in several key areas.

The first being population growth within the United States (US). The United States Census Bureau (USCB) reported that the national population has expanded from 127 million in 1935 to 311 million in 2011. This increase has led to marked growth in the overall number of Social Security recipients to what is now close to 60 million citizens according to the SSA. Another reason behind the increasing price tag of Social Security is the continued inflation of US currency, with the US dollar circa 1935 being equivalent to 16.89 current US dollars according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These issues combined with a large portion of the population, specifically that of the baby boomers entering retirement age within a small timeframe has led to what Social Security Trustees, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, see as an “exhaustion of trust fund reserves in 2033.”

While this will not mean the collapse or bankruptcy of Social Security, the institution will be forced to operate solely off tax

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Social Security card.

income, which would force it to “pay only about three-quarters of scheduled benefits through 2086.”

That being said, there is a modicum of distinction between the two candidates.

Stated firmly on his campaign website, Governor Mitt Romney favors the idea of rising the current Social Security payout age beyond 67 so as to account for increased life expectancy of American citizens. Along with that, Governor Romney wants to see the growth rate of Social Security benefits continue to increase, but do so at a lower rate for higher income citizens.

On the other hand, President Obama’s campaign site outlines his clear distinction from Mitt Romney, in that he has no intention of altering the current standards and retirement age of Social

Security. The president is committed to maintaining the status quo of the institution, but as reported by CNN favors an increase in payroll taxes for high income earners so as to offset the current trend to a 25 percent reduction in benefit capabilities of Social Security.

In the case of both candidates, the goals outlined for Social Security are kept as obscure as possible with no specifics to be found.

Students at Pace are within the age range of those most likely to be affected by this decreased coverage of Social Security. Political science major Richard Szkodzinski said he “fully expects not to receive the benefits of Social Security”; it becomes obvious that this should be an issue at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

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Are you a democratic or republican, or neither?

Opinion

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Page 6

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

The Case for Republicans Richard Szkadzinski

Featured Reporter Richard.L.Szkadzinski@pace.edu

The 2012 election is being dubbed as the most critical election in years, with the most starkly contrasted candidates yet. President Obama is calling this the “clearest choice in a generation.”

“On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties,” the president said on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, in front of a crowd of about 20,000 at the Time Warner Cable Arena. “It will be a choice between two different paths for America. A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future.”

I could not agree more, which is why I urge you to consider voting for the Republican Party ticket on Nov. 6. Why should you vote for the republicans this time around? Let’s compare and contrast the key items that will affect you now and in the future: jobs, the economy, energy prices and the debt.

The stagnant economy has the most immediate and visible impact on every voter today and is arguably the top issue of this political cycle. As a result of the poor economy twenty-three million Americans are out of work and struggling on government dependency or are underemployed and struggling with low wages.

Fifteen percent of Americans are in poverty according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment has been hovering at eight percent for 44 months and has been as high

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Americas Comeback Team, Romney and Ryan 2012. as ten percent over the past four years. When factoring in people who are underemployed (called the U6 Number) and people who have stopped looking for work, the unemployment numbers creep into the upper teens and as high as 22 percent in Nevada or 20 percent in California as reportered on CNBC. The republicans believe the best jobs program is economic growth. The keys to economic growth are lower, fairer, and simplified tax codes that allow businesses to reinvest their own capital back into their business thereby growing and hiring more people.

The Republicans, according to the GOP Platform, will reduce, eliminate and replace regulations that stifle business growth, which will provide a level of stability and certainty for job creators.

Get government out of the way of the job creators.

What have the Democrats done to alleviate the economic free-fall over the past four years?

According to Brian Koenig of the New American Magazine for the first two years while the economy was in a nose dive and hundreds

of thousands of jobs disappeared on a monthly basis, the administration spent their political capital on creating a health care system that will take over one eighth of the federal budget, increase the cost of healthcare for the average family and put private health care providers out of business instead of focusing on improving the economy.

The current plan to increase taxes on high income earners and businesses will cause businesses of all sizes to put off hiring decisions, decrease overall spending, and lay off staff in preparation for paying the government more in taxes. The increased unemployment has had a devastating impact on recent college graduates.

According to the Huffington Post, fifty percent of recent college graduates cannot find jobs and remain unemployed for extended periods of time.

The last two years of the Obama administration have not been any better. The administration said that “investments” into the green energy industry would have a double effect of creating new jobs and new energy sources.

According to the Divided

States website, as of July 2012 at least 14 high-profile energy companies the administration invested in have gone bankrupt. The most famous of these companies are Solyndra, a solar panel company and A123 the battery manufacturer for electric cars. Both companies were losing thousands of jobs instead of creating them and losing billions of dollars of taxpayer money that could have been spent more wisely.

The Democrats show no signs of changing the current policies to improve the economy or to stop poor investments. The administration, according to Obama, is on the record for giving them a grade of “Incomplete” when it comes to the economy. So when will they begin to fix it?

Have you noticed the price of gas and electricity lately? According to Consumer Reports when President Obama took the oath of office in Jan. 2009 the average price of a gallon of gas was $1.84, now in New York the average price is $4.09 and in California the average price is $5.00.

The Obama Administration uses oppressively punishing Environmental Protection Agency, also known as EPA, regulations, such as those on the coal industry, or the fossil fuel industry (Preventing the Keystone Pipeline) to attempt to boost usage of green energy technology by killing the coal and oil industries.

According to the Wall Street Journal these regulations actually cost America jobs and increase energy costs. The republican platform states that they will use an all of the above strategy towards energy to lower costs, which includes more drilling for oil and natural gas, opening the Keystone Pipeline from Canada, and using

more coal.

The National Debt Clock has topped 16 Trillion dollars. That means we are borrowing from other countries at a rate of about 1.1 Trillion a year.

The Obama administration, in four years is responsible for adding 6.5 Trillion of that number, that’s more than George W Bush added in eight years which was 4.8 Trillion.

In 2008, then Candidate Obama said adding 4 Trillion dollars in debt was irresponsible and unpatriotic. I wonder what “2008 Obama” would say to “2012 Obama” about adding 6.5 Trillion in debt.

According to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Platform the current policies of the Democratic Party are to stay on the current path, a “more of the same” policy towards spending.

The Republicans, by contrast, will cut the deficit using dramatic spending and budget cuts coupled with tax loophole closures. As stated in the Grand Old Party (GOP) Platform they will require a balanced budget and sound monetary policy.

Mitt Romney in the debates stated that he will use the following litmus test towards spending …

“If we have to borrow money from China to fund a program, then that program gets cut.”

In 2009 in an interview with NBC News, President Obama told Matt Lauer that if in three years he hasn’t fixed the economy then he will be a one-term president. I suggest we honor that pledge, and elect Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan on November 6th, 2012.

Minority Report: All is Fair... In Race and Politics?

Ebony Turner

Opinion Editor ETurner@PaceChronicle.com

It’s hard to be politically correct when talking about race and politics; any race involved in the discussion tries to ever-so-lightly approach the line of racism without crossing it. But these tame individuals are the catalyst to these same prodding questions about why blacks are more inclined to vote for President Barack Obama are surfacing yet again – a renewed dialogue I am far from excited about. I understand the historical gravity of a black man being in the very White House, but these questions are not being asked to the opposing end.

While most would consider the answer of why this is being moderately racist to suggest that a demographic would vote for a candidate on the basis of solely his race, this current political climate warrants inquiries on this basis. Never in our political history have we been faced with the option of voting for a candidate of a race other than white until

2008. Ever since, media and political analysts have had to call into question a kind of discourse we have never had to consider.

Are we all pre-disposed to favor candidates based on race during this recent election solely because the option to do so is here? This line of questioning suggests that voting has become a segregation conspiracy to return the White House to its roots. There are more complicated matters at hand in lieu of this elections’ importance, and priorities should not lie in race but it does because that is the reality of America – we are not a post-racial society that is capable of looking past race even when we should.

The question should really focus not on the black community, or any minority for that matter, voting for Barack because he is black. I think there isn’t anything fundamentally wrong with voting for someone who has shown no shame in representing and serving demographics that have been historically neglected by our political system. Whether that be women, Latinos or youth, Presi-

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How much sway does race have in the election? dent Obama has made it evident and clear through the majority of his policies that he has a vested interest in repairing areas of our country that are suffering on account of our political system prioritizing funneling their benefits to the upper class. Now this upper class is largely comprised of white men, the same description of the kind of president that has been in office consecutively for centuries. Naturally, questions shouldn’t be directed toward why the minority is voting for the minority based on race, but why the majority might be voting for the majority for the same reason.

It’s a troubling thought to even suggest that there are voters out there who plan to vote for Governor Mitt Romney on the basis of wanting to keep the White House white. Forgive me for the cliché but there is truly no better explanation that only pales in comparison to the shirts and posters plastered with ‘Don’t ReNig’ monikers at the Republican convention. The absurdity of it all reeks of civil rights era bigotries that in no way suggests that the white demographic is soaring above and beyond using race as a factor in this year’s election.

This election and Obama’s

presidency has introduced a much needed revelation in our societies desperate need to re-evaluate how we use race in our daily lives. The nature of how race plays a role in a person’s decision making at any capacity is the ultimate conversation at hand: do we use race as a determinate in encouraging our inner bigot by allowing stereotypes to influence our opinion of an entire race, or are we using race as a gateway to much needed change in a virtually separate but diverse society? Ultimately, the choice is up to us, you and the Electoral College.

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Fpinion eature OOpinion

Election 2012:

The Democratic Position Deborah Ann Gagne

Featured Reporter Deborah.A.Gagne@pace.edu

Our nation is at a crossroads.

In a time of increased global competition and unrest, the after-effects of the Great Recession, and a planet that is running out of water and energy resources to support its seven billion inhabitants, we face a choice between two candidates: one will work to reverse the 30 year decline of the working and middle class’ once enviable prosperity by planning for the future; the other looks to the past, and is determined to eviscerate trusted American institutions and traditions by reinstating the failed economic policies of these same 30 years. Who should you choose?

Here are the facts. President Obama inherited a national economy in free-fall. The breadth and depth of the Great Recession cannot be understated.

According to The Atlantic, “Financial markets have suffered the greatest dislocation in our lifetime. Global equity markets have lost approximately 32 trillion U.S dollars . . . the equivalent to the combined GDP of the G7 countries in 2008.

At the core of the crisis, house prices are plummeting in many countries, with American prices falling at their fastest rate since modern records began.”

PolitiFact’s “Truth-O-Meter reported that, “When Bush took office, the national debt was 5.73 trillion. When he left, it was 10.7 trillion.”

In response and in the face of Republican obstructionism, President Obama successfully passed a stimulus package which “increased employment in the third quarter of this year by as many as 3.3 million fulltime jobs” per Politico last November.

Forbes reported this month that Bloomberg’s 36 indicators

“confirm[s] U.S. growth is generating jobs in the face of a global slowdown”, and “Citigroup data reveals a dramatic jump in economic activity—rising from this year’s low of negative 65.3 on July 19 to today’s positive 49.4.”

The Dow closed at 8,473 on Jan. 12, 2009; this past Thursday’s closed at 13,101. Clearly, our economy is now rebounding under President Obama’s leadership.

When comparing the two candidates’ stands on important issues, the differences could not be starker.

On energy and the environment, President Obama is behind ‘clean’ coal, and supports investing in renewable, clean power sources to secure our nation’s energy independence. Governor Romney’s ideas are old, his focus misguided, his claims false.

As an example, Bloomberg reported than even with the defaults of Solyndra and Beacon Power, the default rate for the entire 16.1 billion Energy Department loan portfolio is less than 3.6 percent.

Governor Romney would approve the XL Pipeline without investigating its environmental and employment impacts.

However, concerned citizens want to know how dangerous ‘dilbit’ (diluted bitumen from tar sands) is and precisely what chemical compounds are used to dilute it. What kind of damage would a spill produce in the Ogallala Aquifer that supports nearly one-fifth of the wheat, corn, cotton, and cattle production in the United States?

TransCanada, with profits at stake, projects that 20 thousand construction and manufacturing jobs will be created, but Cornell University projected the number of jobs would be much lower, “only 500 to 1,400 temporary construction jobs and that much would be outside the U.S.” Due to the 60-day evaluation requirement being too short for an adequate investigation, President Obama wisely postponed the

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Biden and Obama seek reelection this November for another term. review until after the election.

With regard to illegal immigration, President Obama has vigorously pursued deportations of criminal, dangerous illegal immigrants (1.4 million to date - 1.5 times more immigrants on average than Bush deported every month, according to the Department of Homeland Security).

And to the children brought here illegally, the D.R.E.A.M. Act offers conditional permanent residency as a path to permanent residency and citizenship.

According to the Republican Party platform, if elected, Governor Romney will: Complete a high-tech fence to enhance border security. Governor Romney, did you know that the Department of Homeland Security has already spent up to 21 million for each mile of the fence built so far? There are a mere 1,400 more miles needed to complete it.

To offer the chance for a young illegal immigrant to become a permanent resident, and eventually a citizen, if he/she serves honorably in the United States military. Governor Romney, do you think that young illegal immigrants must be willing to die for a country that will “offer a chance” of attaining citizenship?

Pledge to develop a mandatory employment verification system to check if job applicants are eligible to work. Governor Romney, I guess you don’t know

that a program already exists to meet this need. E-Verify provides the means to check employment status, and President Obama recently reauthorized the law for another three years.

One last comparison must be made. The Davis-Bacon Act was passed in 1931 setting forth a requirement that contractors won’t take public money and pay workers below-market rates for their labor. Governor Romney has indicated he would repeal the act, asserting this would produce 10.9 billion in savings a year to the U.S. government.

The predicted “savings” would be taken out of hard-working Americans’ salaries. The Hon. Joseph Crowley testified in Congress last year that repeal would, “threaten the stability and well-being of our Nation’s construction industry; they would seriously undermine the wages and benefits of hard-working construction workers across the United States.”

The Chief Executive must be diplomatic, inclusive, and skilled in communicating national goals and framing solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems.

President Obama has focused on the needs of all Americans during his first term in office by passing healthcare reform and the stimulus package, establishing the Consumer Financial Protection Board, refusing to raise taxes on the working and middle class

who are the economic engine of our nation, creating Recovery. gov to identify fraud and abuse, and raising America’s image around the world.

Additionally, Obama has addressed the specific needs of women in supporting the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and reproductive choice; of students by increasing Pell Grants and lowering loan fees; of veterans by increasing funding to the VA(Veterans Affairs)and tuition assistance; to the LGBT(The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) community with DADT (Don’t ask, Don’t tell) and support of marriage equality; to the elderly by working to preserve Social Security and Medicare; to our children by improving school nutrition and expanding health coverage, and to those most in need by refusing to accept cuts in social programs.

Governor Romney’s campaign for the presidency has been dominated by its use of divisiveness and scapegoating.

He seeks to eliminate government departments (but won’t tell us which ones), close down Planned Parenthood, support the corporate hijacking of campaign financing, dismantle critical programs paid for by working Americans, and repeal hardwon healthcare reform.

He would deny help to our neediest, reduce taxes for the richest, and leave the rest of us and the “47 percent” to fend for ourselves.

Governor Romney’s policies would continue to increase the income disparities between the ultra-rich and the rest of us.

Trickle-down economics have been tried – and they have failed each time.

Give President Obama the opportunity to put our nation and citizens back on the path to pride and prosperity. He deserves your vote.

Celebrities and Politics Erin O’Gorman

Featured Reporter Erin.M.OGorman@pace.edu

The men and women walking the red carpet may not get sworn in on the Bible, yet their political stances could very well shape the masses.

Celebrities’ influence over the masses is undeniable. Yet it could be their opinions on matters like foreign policy, the economy, and the debt ceiling that could sway a swing voter.

For example, actor George Clooney has made his opinions heard in the realm of politics. According to an article written by guardian.co.uk, George Clooney was arrested for protesting outside of the Sudanese embassy.

Also, an article from abcnews. com stated that the actor raised

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George Clooney has been an avid fundraiser for President Obama.

625 thousand dollars to support President Obama at a recent fundraiser in Geneva, Switzerland.

However, Governor Romney also has star power in his corner.

Actor Clint Eastwood has become

infamous for talking to a chair at the Republican National Convention. Nevertheless, Eastwood stated at the RNC that he supports the challenger in the election.

It is not the star power alone

that will help shape the election, though. According to Article Two, Section One of the U.S. Constitution, anyone who has lived in the country for 14 years and is over the age of 35 can run for president. So in theory, Harrison Ford could play his role of president on Air Force One in real life.

Some of Hollywood’s most famous have been involved with politics. Alec Baldwin has told CNN’s Eliot Spitzer, a former governor himself, that he would like to run for public office, according to an article from politico. com. Also, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger became the Governor of California in 2003.

However, the “Governator” recently stepped down from his position.

Perhaps the most famous celebrity to be involved with poli-

tics was former actor President Ronald Reagan. Former President Reagan was featured in the films Kings Row and Bedtime for Bonzo. The former President of the United States was also president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1946.

Even before former President Reagan took the oath of office, he played a unique role in politics.

During the late 1940s, Reagan testified before the House UnAmericans Activists Committee and had a unique role to play during the times of McCarthyism.

The influence of celebrities could be the key vote that swings the undecided voter in Ohio. And perhaps, in an election in the future, George Clooney may star in the real-life thriller “President Clooney.”

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Military and Defense Approaches of the Candidates Michael Fridman Featured Reporter

Michael.Fridman@pace.edu

The two presidential candidates view troop withdrawal from Afghanistan to be a noteworthy foreign policy issue.

President Barack Obama plans to get the troops from Afghanistan and bring them back to the United States while granting the Afghani military the control of their country’s security by 2014.

According to CNN.com, the president’s other big agenda regarding the military is cutting down the defense budget by 487 billion dollars during the next decade.

Republican candidate Governor Mitt Romney expects the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by four percent and thus plans to spend 400 billion dollars more than what President Obama

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Defense approaches are a divine issue between candidates. spent during his current four year term.

According to presidentialcandidates.org, Romney supports Obama’s idea of getting the

troops back from Afghanistan, but he would rather start bringing the soldiers back sooner, starting in December 2012.

Romney seeks to strengthen

the view of the United States to other countries by spending a larger budget on the defense system then the current one that Obama has.

The governor’s general approach is that Americans need to be able to rely on themselves and show their power without help from other organizations.

“The USA need to get back on track with the view in the world as the strongest nation that cannot be vulnerable by terrorism, thus Romney’s approach that might be costly to an extent is better in the long run, especially since the GDP is supposed to rise as well,” said senior accounting major Chris Stuart.

“The United States should focus on domestic affairs and deal with countries in a diplomatic manner instead of resulting in costly wars,” said sophomore political science major Kevin Ben-

cosme in response.

Obama takes a different stance. In his eyes by seeking help and the cooperation from different organizations it will show the strength of the USA. Presidentialcandidates.org stated that Obama wants to rely more on the United Nations, international affairs, and diplomatic solutions, and thus he would rather cut down the defense budget by almost half a trillion dollars.

On the other hand, Bencosme said that “the United States should focus on domestic affairs and deal with countries in a diplomatic manner instead of resulting in costly wars.”

Regardless of the past political views of an individual, foreign policy will undoubtedly sway swing voters in the upcoming election.

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A U.S. Higher Education Bubble?

Patrick Dehahn Featured Reporter

Patrick.G.Dehahn@pace.edu

In the United States, people are calling its nation’s higher education crisis the next financial “bubble.”

America’s college education system is now strapped under multiple issues frustrating many across the country. Generations of university students are currently struggling with program cuts, high and continuously increasing tuition rates, and hefty student debt, as well as the growing uncertainty of getting a job after graduation.

The Pew Research Center reports college education loans reaching almost 20 percent of American homes; 1 in 5 households are dealing with student debt. Young Americans are managing average debt totals

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debt for her thus far in her college career.

Junior history major Melanie McDonald noted her concerns as well.

“My concerns are that I’m not going to find a job that will allow me to pay off all my debt,” said McDonald. “[College] is extremely and unnecessarily expensive and I don’t know how long students will be able to keep taking out loans and going further and further into debt.”

President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney have been participating in debates this election season and higher education has not been as prevalent as it could be.

“There has not been much discussion about college education and debt. We would like to hear more about college education, tuition and student debt from both candidates,” said junior commu-

from

As education prices rise, many are worried the cost of college will be the next bubble to pop. anywhere from 30,000 to more than 60,000 dollars, even hitting 100,000 dollars. Bloomberg News also shares that more than 1 in 10 debt holders have defaulted on their loans.

“I hope that tuition will stop increasing because it will come to a point where some people really can’t afford to get higher education, and if they do happen to go, they will end up taking loans which will take years to pay off,” said junior criminal justice major Sandy Guerrero.

“I personally have no idea how I am going to pay off my loans,” she added. Guerrero noted it may be about 50,000 dollars in

nications major Dana Cavalieri.

Examining both candidates’ platforms, senior communications major Zach Tierney said, “Romney’s suggestion of ‘shopping around’ is valid, but it doesn’t address the reality student’s face when they are looking at schools.”

Students across America are struggling with student debt and high tuition rates – and only hope the next U.S. elected president will positively make changes for their futures economically and regarding jobs.

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Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Elections

Elections and Money: Campaign Funding Lamar Francis

Featured Reportor Lamar.Francis@pace.edu

One significant but seldom talked about topic of election season is the financial aspect of funding each candidate’s campaign.

Although most would like to think that people are nominated and elected because of their policies, credentials, and/or who they are as a person, the reality is that money has a lot to do with an election.

This is not to say that the United States is more likely to vote for the richer candidate, it is just the case that we’re more likely to vote for the people who spend the most on their respective campaigns.

This can be due to the growing number of uninformed voters who will take whoever they see the most in consideration.

President Barack Obama spent 740.6 million during the 2008 Presidential Election. That could meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and have extra left over.

The amount of money Obama spent on his campaign accounted for 44 percent of the election’s total spending and the other 56 percent was the total used by all the other candidates, even including primaries. That’s nearly 100 million more than the combined expenditures of John Kerry and George W. Bush during the 2004 election.

This is not to say that Obama is the only person who spends money campaigning, because the amount of funds spent on elections has risen every four years, and the competition is spending

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Elections aren’t cheap, so where’s all this money coming from? just to keep up.

The MDGs are eight goals that 23 international organizations have vowed to achieve by 2015.

This includes eradicating extreme hunger, universal primary education, and the reduction of child mortality rates, among others.

These could be all met with the amount of money used in these elections.

Through the simplest research, one can see the trend of who reserves the nomination of the Democratic and Republican parties and who ultimately wins the presidency. It is often the person who has the most money.

In addition to the fundraising with in the United States, what is to be said about the donations that are coming from other countries?

According to Breitbart News,

there is evidence that many countries (especially in Asia), like China and Taiwan, have been contributing to the United States’ candidates.

Some see foreign donations as potential future partnerships, but with the financial trends of the more recent elections of the past decade, having access to saidmoney could play an important role with who gets elected. This begs the question: could nonUnited States citizens be impacting our election more than the U.S.’s own?

With President Obama in the lead with more funds raised and funds spent in this current campaign, the country must wait and see if the trend continues with his reelection in 2012.

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Elections

Solutions to Stopping Gun Violence Lindsay Burgess

Featured Reporter Lindsay.Burgess@pace.edu

Despite the portrayal of the “lovely” world Americans live in today, it’s no secret that thousands of deaths each year are related to gun violence.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, about 1,246,248 violent crimes occurred nationally in 2010 alone.

In lieu of the upcoming election, victims of a lack of gun control and the families who have suffered from these crimes are asking, will America’s next president attempt to prevent this, and if so what measures will be taken?

“There have been too many incidences during the course of my presidency where I have

had to comfort families who’ve lost somebody,” said President Obama during the second presidential debate. He then sentimentally reminisced back to a family who had suffered from gun violence.

“I think that one area we agree on is the importance of parents and the importance of schools, because I do believe that if our young people have opportunity, then they are less likely to engage in these kinds of violent acts,” said Obama.

Jay Carney, Obama’s spokesman, stated, “He believes we need to take steps that protect Second Amendment rights of the American people but that ensure that we are not allowing weapons into the hands of individuals who should not, by existing law, obtain those weapons.”

Regarding gun control, Governor Romney said, “It’s been investigated to a degree but the administration has carried out executive privilege to prevent all of the information from coming out.”

Governor Romney goes on to say that gun supporters and those who oppose guns came together in the state of Massachusetts in order to ban assault weapons.

Additionally, Romney claims that there’s nothing wrong with the current laws that have already been put in place. He said that it’s now time for the U.S. to enforce these laws so that gun violence can be prevented.

Many people continue to say that neither President Obama nor Governor Romney have addressed how they would prevent gun violence from transpiring.

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The FBI tracks crime yearly.

The answer to that has still remained unclear.

“Gun violence has been spiraling out of control. I lost a friend to gun violence in Mount Vernon.

No one’s done anything to stop it either,” said junior criminal justice major Alisha Hayes. “It’s just really sad.”

Keystone XL: The Pipeline to Canada Jaclyn Drummond

Featured Reporter Jaclyn.Drummond@pace.edu

The proposed oil pipeline to Canada is a major issue during the 2012 elections. The company TransCanada is trying to build a pipeline that transports crude oil from Alberta, Canada south to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. An article by money.cnn.com states that the pipeline would “bring between 500,000 to 700,000 barrels a day from the Canadian oil sands region to refineries on the Gulf Coast.”

The transportation of that much oil could make the pipeline possibly dangerous for the environment. However, an article written by about.com states that there could be 570 thousand jobs created with the building of the pipeline. The projected revenue from the potential oil exports could help America’s economy.

Many environment groups like the Tar Sands Blockade strongly oppose the building of

the pipeline.

“I think even the idea of building this pipeline is preposterous.

Why ruin our environment to export oil to other countries? We should focus on alternative energy sources,” said junior accounting major Matt Swanko.

On the flip side, America’s largest issue right now is the need for job creation. Texas governor Rick Perry stated that “anywhere from 100,000 to one million” jobs would be created as a direct result of the pipeline’s construction.

If half a million Americans are provided good paying jobs as a result of this project, then the pipeline may be worth its risks.

Yet this number is inflated.

A study by Cornell University Global Labor Institute predicted that only between 500 and 1,400 temporary construction jobs will be created. Last year the U.S. State Department calculated that the pipeline would add 5,000 to 6,000 jobs.

Governor Romney has displayed his belief that the pipeline

is a great idea and suggests that if he were in office while the proposal came through that he would have had it approved immediately. During the second presidential debate on Tues. Oct. 16 Governor Romney said, “We’re going to bring that pipeline in from Canada. How in the world the president said no to that pipeline?

I will never know.” He went on to speak about the importance of creating jobs in America.

President Obama’s stance on the pipeline is less clear. He has not stated whether his is supportive of or opposed to the project.

When TransCanada’s first proposal went through American government it was denied. However, the company has been working at revising the proposal and rerouting the pipeline and will be submitting another proposal soon.

The Obama administration has stated that they will re-evaluate the proposal after it is submitted.

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from

WashingtonPost.com

The Keystone pipeline would run from Canada and extend to southern Texas.

Health

The Pace Chronicle

Page 12

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Elections

Flying Another Flag with the Stars and Stripes CJ Dudek

Sports Editor CDudek@PaceChronicle.com

The red states and the blue states are both made up of people waving rainbow flags in conjunction with the flag of our forefathers.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community watched Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama debate the issues the United States is facing, yet neither candidate seemed to answer their questions.

As the debates raged on, senior psychology major Samantha De Lillo watched as neither candidate addressed the LGBT community. Still, De Lillo was quick to point out that there is more to a presidency than just addressing the issues of one group.

“I think it’s a tricky situation,” De Lillo said. “The issue of marriage has been progressing state by state; it is hard for the president to take a stand on this spe-

cific issue because of everything else he has to address.”

However, when it did come down to the selection of a candidate, the vice president of GSA at Pace University backed Obama.

“I think toward the end of his term, he began to realize that he needs to be focused on what the people feel is right,” De Lillo said.

Still, both men have changed their stance on marriage depending on the political climate. According to thepoliticalguide.com, in 1996, when President Obama was a senator, he filled out a questionnaire saying he would back a state resolution in support of gay marriage; however, Obama stated in a 2004 campaign debate that marriage is between one man and one woman. Obama maintained that stance until he publicly supported gay marriage in 2012 during an interview with Robin Roberts of ABC. Perhaps the most significant action the incumbent president made in the LGBT’s battle was a

Photos

from

GodSideKurt.com

LGBT rights are a hot button issue in this election. rule he took away, rather than one he wrote. According to an article written by the New York Times, Obama repealed the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy in the United States Military that banned openly gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals from serving their country on June 22.

As for Romney, thepoliticalguide.com stated that he was

The 2012 Election and the Rest of the World Andreas Christou

Featured Reporter Andreas.E.Christou@pace.edu

Not only is the American presidential election being viewed as one of the most important elections in our nation’s history, governments across the globe are also awaiting the results of Nov. 6.

“This election is important as America is trying to do a readjustment, along with all the other industrial economies, from a global economic crisis,” said political science professor Dr. Gregory Julian.

In today’s globally connected world, we have the ability to watch each other and see how foreign affairs dictate actions back home. Perhaps the most important bond we share with the world is our economic connection. The U.S. economy is not only affected by actions on the home front, but by what the rest of the world does.

We recently saw this in Greece during their June election between the New Democratic Party that would comply with the European Union austerity measures, and the party against them.

The entire world watched the elections in hope that the Greek government would make the right decision and not default. According to an article by marketplace. org, Greece defaulting on its loan could cause a collapse of the European Union.

The European and Asian markets are watching the U.S. elections as well, because they know that the outcome of this election will affect them whether the winner is President Obama or Governor Romney.

“Everything has to look to China, they’re our biggest com-

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from

WorldPress.org

America may be its own country but what happens here can affect the world. petitor right now; more of our debt is held by China than any other country. If our foreign policy with China becomes too aggressive, China can demand their money, which would cause a catastrophic burden on US taxes,” said Dr. Julian.

Governor Romney has pledged to act in a more aggressive way towards China in regards to trade and negotiations. According to republicancandidates.org, the former governor of Massachusetts argues that the president has not been “tough enough” when dealing with China. Romney plans on labeling China a “currency manipulator” and claims that he will take action against China through the World Trade Organization.

Yet the Governor’s foreign policy does not end in Asia.

With many conflicts arising in the Middle East involving Syria, Turkey, and Iran, this election is certain to impact our foreign relations and military involvement in that area.

“Romney will have to do things militarily to prove he has the metal to be commander in chief,” said Dr. Julian.

Also the world will be watching the election to see what America’s wealthiest members do. Global governments will be curious to see if the stock market will decline if the top one percent of the U.S. population is asked to pay higher taxes.

“There are consequences for Obama to ask the rich and very rich to pay their fair share; if Obama gets elected there will be an unwillingness for the economic elite to work with Obama voluntarily,” said Dr. Julian. “Demanding the wealthy to pay their fair share will not come easily.”

Countries in all corners of the world will be turning their eyes to the United States on Nov. 6, to see who will indeed come out victorious in an election that could define the actions of several generations across the globe.

a proponent of gay marriage in 1994. The governor wrote a letter to a gay rights group known as the Log Cabin Club stating that he “supported full equality for America’s gay and lesbian citizens.”

However, that stance changed in the beginning of 2005. Governor Romney went on several news organizations and declared

that marriage was between one man and one woman. In 2007, Romney stated he always thought marriage to be between one man and one woman, and he maintained that stance through 2012.

In the debate, neither candidate addressed the issue of gay marriage because the question was not raised by the moderator.

Regardless of the man who gets sworn into office in January, De Lillo believes that progress for the LGBT community, as a whole, will be defined by more than just adding a new amendment to the Constitution.

“When it comes to gay people in general we want to be seen as equal,” De Lillo said. “Something simple like going to a court house and signing a piece of paper, a great milestone would be getting respect, and that can start by legalizing gay marriage.”

Whether that respect will come tomorrow or four years from now is hard to tell, but the first step towards progress may prove to be the toughest to take.

Women in Politics Samantha Finch

Entertainment Editor SFinch@pace.edu

The race for presidency revolves around a variety of issues that will impact the daily lives of the citizens of the United States.

These issues, and the stances each of the candidates take on them, will determine the outcome of the election and who will become the forty-fifth president of the United States.

The fight for women equality began in the late 1800s and resulted in the right to vote starting in the 1920 election. Despite this massive achievement there are still aspects of women’s rights that are sorely lacking.

Though there are several issues being discussed today, important issues are on the topics of abortion, Planned Parenthood, and birth control.

Both President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney have very strong opinions on these issues.

However, their stances differ a great deal.

According to the minor statements made in the past two presidential debates, President Obama believes it is the choice of women to use judgment regarding her body. This includes abortion and any other contraceptives women may use.

“When it comes to abortion I truly do believe that it is a woman’s choice. Personally, I could never do it, but I believe it’s the woman’s choice depending on the situation she is in,” said junior childhood education major, Kristen DeRosa.

In regard to these issues, Romney wants to overturn the Supreme Court decision of Roe Versus Wade and supports a bill called The Blunt Amendment.

This bill is designed to restrict access to contraceptives and birth

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Women in politics.

control. Additionally, he wants to cut funding to Plan Parenthood.

“I really cannot wrap my head around women who are voting for Romney. He has a backwards view of women’s rights and supporting the Blunt Amendment Act and the Planned Parenthood Amendment are steps in the wrong direction,” said junior nursing major Arielle Winters.

With the 2012 election well underway and only a few weeks until the polls open, now is the time that President Obama and his competitor Governor Mitt Romney to truly influence their voters.

Approximately 51 percent of the population is female; this means that the results of these issues could potentially impact the women across the country and the generations of women to come.

“Women’s issues are a very important topic in the 2012 election because it affects so many people,” said senior business major Kelsey Weinstein. “This is an important concept to consider while casting a vote because one must consider the greater good for the majority not the minority.”

The home stretch is here and in the end this race will come down to more than just Democrat and Republican; it will come down to the women who support either candidates’ views on women