Bill Clinton Wins in Nationwide Student Mock Presidential Election

>>> Clinton reelected in landslide!--That's what MHC students hope will happen, according to a mock presidential election sponsored by the MHC bookstore. The real election is November 5.

President Clinton was the winner in a nationwide mock election among college students conducted by some 425 U.S. campus bookstores, including the one at MHC. On October 23, students could vote for president and rank the importance of key campaign issues.

Mount Holyoke voters "overwhelmingly favored Clinton," according to bookstore manager John Bowen. At MHC, 88 percent voted for Clinton, with 9 percent choosing Dole, 2 percent choosing Perot/Choate and 1 percent choosing Browne/Jorgenson. Students here ranked the top three campaign issues influencing their votes as: educational funding and support, social policies, and abortion.

Nationwide, the Clinton/Gore ticket bested the Dole/Kemp one, though by a smaller margin than at MHC. The national tally was: 61 percent Clinton, 28 percent Dole, 7 percent Perot, and 2 percent Browne. The top campaign issues for students nationally were: educational funding and support, wages and tax policies, and the current and future job market. More than 400 MHC women were among the nearly 44,000 students taking part in the poll, organized by Follett College Stores.

The MHC bookstore publicized the mock vote with stuffed rubber-masked dummies with caricatured faces of Dole and Clinton, posters, and a political book display. The campus Democratic and Republican organizations, as well as Students for a Fair Ballot and Campus Wave, helped get the MHC vote out. Many of these same people will be urging students to vote in the real election on November 5.