Although Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama debated foreign policy Monday night, a number of students at Boston University said they do not consider foreign policies when making their election decision.
“I don’t think a lot of students are aware of what’s going on with foreign policy,” said Jesse Fordyce, a College of Engineering sophomore. “But I think foreign policy is the most important thing [in the election].”
The sanctions imposed upon Iran by the U.S. and its allies to halt Iran’s nuclear weapon’s development has cast a spotlight on the strategy’s efficacy and the candidates’ foreign policy platforms during the presidential campaign season.
Brennah Montague, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said foreign policy should be the most important topic in the decision for president.
“I don’t want another administration that is going to jump into war,” she said. “We tend to have a pretty narcissistic view with how important America is. We’re very interconnected. It’s not realistic looking forward to be so focused on America.”
Though students agreed issues in Iran were important, a number of students said they did not know much about it and that they would focus on other issues in their voting decision.
“Personally, I focus on their [the candidate’s] stances on things like abortion and gay rights,” said Rachel D’Apice, a CAS freshman. “Though foreign policy is just as or more important, these issues are more important to me personally.”
Rebecca Lysiak, a CAS junior, said most college students are more concerned with social issues than foreign policies.
“If they vote Republican, they are concerned with the economy. If they vote Democrat, they are concerned with social issues,” Lysiak said.
Phoebe Bartlett, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore, said she is concerned with the candidates stance on women’s rights and gay rights.
“To a lot of people, foreign policy is confusing, so people tend to focus on other things,” she said. “I don’t know much about foreign policy, but I know their stance on women’s rights and gay rights.”
Bartlett said students and adults alike do not research enough into these policies to make informed decisions.
“They don’t have time to watch the debates and they overlook details about their policies,” she said. “It would be beneficial to pay attention to all the topics though.”
Fordyce said he still needs to watch the debates and read more about the issues before he makes his decision.
“Students have more important issues on their mind like gay marriage, but I don’t think they have much control,” he said. “But these issues are all about people getting into other people’s lives. These things shouldn’t be in politics.”
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