Page 22 - Sphere No.23 (Dec 2008)

The day after Senator McCain gave his acceptance speech
at the convention, the students found themselves packed in a
van heading east to set up base on Washington, DC’s famous K
Street, just blocks from the White House.
Throughout the campaign, the team
interviewed people on the streets, at ral-
lies, in restaurants and bars, and on Cap-
itol Hill, to get their perspectives on the
campaign and their reactions to the pres-
idential and vice-presidential debates.
They were particularly interested in lis-
tening to and reporting on the observa-
tions and opinions of American students
attending academic institutions such as
Johns Hopkins, George Washington Uni-
versity, AmericanUniversity andGeorge-
town University. This connection with
students has been an invaluable learning
process for Shantou stu-
dent Gong Jietong.
“I noticed that young
Americans are so excited
to support the candidates from both parties,” she said. “During
their voting process, they had problems with registering people
to vote. I listened to their problems, talked to them and saw how
they attempt to solve the problems. These discussions were good
experiences for me. It helped me to learn
and when I return to China, I can explain
the process to my peers and broaden
their understanding of democracy.”
The students also got a first-hand look
at the candidates at rallies in Virginia and
Ohio where the nominees appeared be-
fore a crowd to boost media coverage and
energise their supporters. At a rally in
Sterling, Virginia, Ms Gong and a fellow
Shantou student, Ma Jing, had the op-
portunity to talk to and have their picture
taken with Democratic Vice Presidential
candidate, Joe Biden.
“I was initially surprised to see such
a high ranking leader acting like an old
friend to ordinary people,” said Ms Ma.
“He walked up to people and talked to
olice were out in force at both conventions to keep
order among people protesting about a wide range of issues P
OHIO WATCH
Jim Locke used to be a lifelong Demo-
crat but changed his mind. So it goes in
Chillicothe, Ohio, a bellwether town in a
bellwether state. Locke said he is voting
for McCain because his strong character
and record as a leader could deliver the
country, and the city of Chillicothe, out of
the economic meltdown.The economy is
a priority in Ohio, a manufacturing centre
that lost a quarter of its manufacturing
jobs in the past seven years. “I am really
concerned about the current economic
situation,” said the Chinese-American
owner of Chinese fast food restaurant in
Chillicothe who would only give her last
name ofWang.“Business is getting worse.
If the economy can get better, I don’t
mind paying more taxes.”
– Zheng Jialiang