The Justice

Alana Abramson interviewed Prof. Peter Woll (POL) on the history of Brandeis' involvement in political campaigns.

JustFeatures: Brandeis has a very strong liberal tradition. Why do students consistently support the Democratic presidential candidate?

Peter Woll: It is very correct we support the liberal candidate-except during the Reagan years-but it is probably true that students at Northeast universities are generally liberal, just because they are young and can't identify with conservatives. The parents of the Brandeis student body are also largely Democratic, and many of them are acquainted with liberal values at a young age. It is a well-known fact. I don't know how many of our students are Jewish, but it is a well known fact that the Jewish subculture is very liberal.

JF: Was there ever a time when Brandeis didn't overwhelmingly support the Democratic candidate or when students primarily supported the Republican candidate?

PW: The first time [was] during the 1980s, [when] we had more conservative views being expressed than was traditional at Brandeis.

JF: What issues have always mattered most to Brandeis students in the presidential election?

PW: I don't know about specific issues. I do not think students are very concerned with some of the major issues like health care. I think they put the issues into macro terms like helping the poor and intervention for good causes. I think the issues vary from year to year. I am not sure how issue-oriented students are, not only at Brandeis, but in general. I don't know whether the Brandeis students supported the Iraq war, for example. They certainly opposed the Vietnam War, as did students across the country. [The students] support a broad liberal philosophy.

JF: What, in your opinion, was the most exciting presidential election for Brandeis students?

PW: This one is by far the most exciting election that has ever occurred for Brandeis for students [and] for all young people. People from all over the world are engaged. McGovern was also exciting; so was the 1968 election of [Richard] Nixon versus [Hubert] Humphrey. [The 1968 election] was huge. [Brandeis students] supported [Eugene] McCarthy, but Humphrey was running, and they weren't supporting Humphrey. [Brandeis students] supported McCarthy and went to New Hampshire for him.

JF: Seeing how invested Brandeis students are in [today's] election, would you say that students are more involved in this presidential campaign than they have been in the past?

PW: I would definitely say that students are more involved in this presidential campaign than they have been in the past. In the '60s, they were also politically active, but this campaign is different because of the Internet. I think the Vietnam War galvanized the left and provided a ready cause, but you [also] have the youth movement and Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s engaging students dramatically. This year, it is the charisma of Obama combined with the perceived excessive conservatism and the failures of the Bush administration. They are excited about Obama because he is a dramatic display of youth and McCain is the past. Obama has shown them they can be politically active and is soliciting them. He is mobilizing people in a way that is possible because of the Internet. Students like Obama because of his charisma and his dramatic style.

Edited and condensed by Shana D. Lebowitz.

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