Survey: Obama leading at NYU
Adam Ballheim
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: News
Almost twice as many NYU students support Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) than Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for the 2008 presidential election, according to a recent survey conducted by an NYU journalism class.
Of the 3,000 NYU students surveyed from Oct. 24 to 26, slightly more than 40 percent said they are most likely to support Obama in the 2008 election. About 20 percent of students chose Clinton. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican, came in third at just over 11 percent.
The survey also presented a predominately liberal student body; more than half of the NYU students polled identified themselves as Democrats and only 11.05 percent identified themselves as Republicans.
But despite the strong support at NYU, Obama lags in the national polls.
Clinton's performance in the Oct. 30 Democratic debate was widely criticized, but she leads Obama 47 percent to 25 percent among Democrats, according to a Nov. 1-5 poll of 1,509 adults conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal.
The discrepancy didn't surprise Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who said university students across the country have built an intricate support system for the senator.
"Students can relate to him," she said.
There are more than 600 "Students for Barack Obama" groups at colleges across the country, giving him the largest organized student campaign force of any prospective candidate.
"These are active organizations," Psaki said. "The students are not just waving signs. They are organizing, registering voters and organizing events."
And even before the Illinois senator announced his candidacy, there were numerous Facebook groups calling on him to run for president. One of those groups - "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)" - had nearly 381,000 members at press time. The equivalent pro-Clinton group - "Hillary Clinton for President - One Million Strong" - had about 8,000 members.
On Sept. 27, Obama held a free rally at Washington Square Park, the heart of NYU's campus. Psaki said it was an attempt to "harness that energy and enthusiasm and turn it into votes." Nearly 24,000 people attended the rally, WSN reported.
"It helps that he had a rally in Washington Square Park," said GSP freshman Danny El Hassan. "Also, as young people, we're really proactive, we want new things, so I think the fact that he's black is appealing to NYU students. He's also good-looking."
Students said they weren't surprised by Obama's popularity.
"I think he's popular because he feels like an everyman," said Tisch freshman Bill Santagata. "He's a good speaker, and he comes off as down to earth. It helps that he's young."
Illyana Contreras, a freshman in Steinhardt, said Obama was more personable than Clinton.
"Seeing him face to face really helps," she said. "He seems to be personable to young people, and Hillary doesn't seem as likeable. She seems kind of cold to me. Obama tries to reach out to young people, and it seems that Hillary hasn't taken that route."
The NYU poll was conducted by students in the introductory journalism class, "Foundations of Journalism," taught by journalism department chair Brooke Kroeger.
In the survey, none of the other candidates - John Edwards, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, Ron Paul and Bill Richardson - polled higher than Edwards' 3.07 percent. About 15 percent either gave a write-in answer or said they did not plan to vote. More survey participants wrote in comedian Stephen Colbert's name than those who said they'd vote for McCain, Romney or Thompson, although Colbert's petition to be put on South Carolina's ballot for the Democratic primary was just denied.
Adam Ballheim is a contributing writer and is in the "Foundations of Journalism" class that conducted the survey. E-mail him at news@nyunews.com.
Of the 3,000 NYU students surveyed from Oct. 24 to 26, slightly more than 40 percent said they are most likely to support Obama in the 2008 election. About 20 percent of students chose Clinton. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican, came in third at just over 11 percent.
The survey also presented a predominately liberal student body; more than half of the NYU students polled identified themselves as Democrats and only 11.05 percent identified themselves as Republicans.
But despite the strong support at NYU, Obama lags in the national polls.
Clinton's performance in the Oct. 30 Democratic debate was widely criticized, but she leads Obama 47 percent to 25 percent among Democrats, according to a Nov. 1-5 poll of 1,509 adults conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal.
The discrepancy didn't surprise Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who said university students across the country have built an intricate support system for the senator.
"Students can relate to him," she said.
There are more than 600 "Students for Barack Obama" groups at colleges across the country, giving him the largest organized student campaign force of any prospective candidate.
"These are active organizations," Psaki said. "The students are not just waving signs. They are organizing, registering voters and organizing events."
And even before the Illinois senator announced his candidacy, there were numerous Facebook groups calling on him to run for president. One of those groups - "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)" - had nearly 381,000 members at press time. The equivalent pro-Clinton group - "Hillary Clinton for President - One Million Strong" - had about 8,000 members.
On Sept. 27, Obama held a free rally at Washington Square Park, the heart of NYU's campus. Psaki said it was an attempt to "harness that energy and enthusiasm and turn it into votes." Nearly 24,000 people attended the rally, WSN reported.
"It helps that he had a rally in Washington Square Park," said GSP freshman Danny El Hassan. "Also, as young people, we're really proactive, we want new things, so I think the fact that he's black is appealing to NYU students. He's also good-looking."
Students said they weren't surprised by Obama's popularity.
"I think he's popular because he feels like an everyman," said Tisch freshman Bill Santagata. "He's a good speaker, and he comes off as down to earth. It helps that he's young."
Illyana Contreras, a freshman in Steinhardt, said Obama was more personable than Clinton.
"Seeing him face to face really helps," she said. "He seems to be personable to young people, and Hillary doesn't seem as likeable. She seems kind of cold to me. Obama tries to reach out to young people, and it seems that Hillary hasn't taken that route."
The NYU poll was conducted by students in the introductory journalism class, "Foundations of Journalism," taught by journalism department chair Brooke Kroeger.
In the survey, none of the other candidates - John Edwards, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, Ron Paul and Bill Richardson - polled higher than Edwards' 3.07 percent. About 15 percent either gave a write-in answer or said they did not plan to vote. More survey participants wrote in comedian Stephen Colbert's name than those who said they'd vote for McCain, Romney or Thompson, although Colbert's petition to be put on South Carolina's ballot for the Democratic primary was just denied.
Adam Ballheim is a contributing writer and is in the "Foundations of Journalism" class that conducted the survey. E-mail him at news@nyunews.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Tim
posted 11/14/07 @ 12:52 PM EST
Right, its great that all these students think Obama's the one to vote for because "students can relate to him" and "the fact that he's black is appealing to voters" (!!) but every election, 18-24 year olds are the least likely to vote. (Continued…)
FUobama+clinton
posted 11/15/07 @ 10:49 AM EST
i forgot how much i hate the nyu student body.
kucinich 4eva
Chaz
posted 11/15/07 @ 2:24 PM EST
This poll doesn't seem very accurate or scientific at all. What was the methodology? Most people I know at NYU support either Rudy or Hillary. No doubt that Obama supporters are on the more vocal side, but most people aren't blinded enough to support a candidate they know isn't going to win. (Continued…)
Mitty
posted 11/22/07 @ 5:18 PM EST
Why do one think hillary will win? over half of the country dislikes her; she is a liar and not trustworthy. I don't trust her looking at her. As a young voter, Obama has my best intrest. (Continued…)
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