The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

Obama approval rating declines among students

The “Obamamania” students had for the newly elected president has diminished in the past year, according to a recent survey.

An Associated Press-mtvU poll reported last month that 44 percent of students approve of how President Barack Obama is handling his job, and 27 percent are unhappy with his execution. This shows a decrease of Obama’s approval rating among students since May 2009, with 60 percent of students satisfied with Obama’s job and 15 percent dissatisfied.

Bryce J. Dietrich, graduate teacher’s assistant in political science, said these figures may not necessarily decline at the same rate as other age brackets since a majority of college students follow a democratic, liberal ideology.

“In Obama’s case, there was a huge surge of support from young people during his election. Even though his approval has declined among young people, they still generally support him more than any other age bracket,” he said. “Whether that decline will continue into the future really depends on what Obama does.”

Olivia Kevin, sophomore in LAS, said she doesn’t approve of how Obama is handling his job, especially his health care reform bill.

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“I don’t think he really thought through his health care bill very well, and I think a lot of people are upset with the way that it is working,” she said. “I personally don’t approve of the way he’s doing that, and I think he made a lot of promises that he didn’t keep.”

Obama’s much talked about health care reform was also an issue for Benjamin Rodrigues, senior in LAS, who said he supported the reform and was satisfied with Obama’s job.

“He did come into a rough time, and I think that anyone who came into the political climate we have now would have a tough job ahead of him or her,” Rodrigues said. “I do support his health care bill as I think it will be better overall for everyone. I am also looking to get into that field, so that was something major for me.”

While some students were very decided on their approval or disapproval of Obama, some were not.

Garrett Hupe, junior in LAS, said he agrees with some of Obama’s actions and disagrees with others and is “in the middle.”

“At the beginning of his campaign he said that he was going to work really hard to legalize gay marriage, which I think he’s lacking on,” he said. “But, I like how he handled the New York City mosque issue, didn’t interfere with it and let New York deal with that.”

Dietrich said Obama’s poll numbers have dropped in all demographics, and it would be naive to assume young people would not follow that trend.

Nate Baranowski, senior in FAA, said it seemed Obama was not following through with what he originally said he was going to do.

“It really seems that he is falling in between and has both republicans and democrats unhappy with his job. But I’m also realistic that you can’t turn around an entire nation in two years.”

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