Take the Primary Pulse: Local College Students on Voting Plans for Today's Missouri Primary

The primary comes to Missouri  today and it will be another stop on the election express as voters take part in the 2012 primary season.

Whether voting is a hot topic on the campus solely depends upon whom you speak to. Some students are deeply involved in the process while others are ambivalent to the whole thing.

Patch went on tour of the campus recently and this is a sample of what we found:

Katie Rochester, Maplewood

This 20-year-old, enrolled in sociology and women's studies feels politics is a big part of Webster University campus life. She plans to vote Tuesday in the Missouri primary.

“We have some active groups on campus. We have lots of different opinions among our students," Rochester said. "We come from the generation who have to be active if we are going to make a difference in the future.”

Rochester added, “students need to participate or things just won’t change. It’s very important that students get out there and express their ideas on how things should be run.”

Rochester explained how students are getting their information these days.

“We watch a lot of YouTube videos. It’s free advertising for different views,” she said.

Troy Morris, Edwardsville

Morris is an 18-year-old music major who is not registered to vote.

"This is a very liberal school but I don't hear a lot of political discussions on campus. I pretty much try and stay out of the discussions," Morris said. "I do plan to be registered for the next election and I will be voting," he said.

Hayden Molinarolo, Harrisburg (Ill.)

Majoring in photography with a minor in video, this Illinois native, age 20 is pretty much turned off by the whole process. He is not registered to vote, and doesn’t plan to do so any time soon.

“If I was registered to vote, I wouldn’t do that anyway,” he said. “This country needs a lot of change, and I feel it must come from the ground up. We need change at the grass roots level.”

Molinarolo is  intrigued by the words of candidate Ron Paul, Republican for president. “He’s really a Libertarian, but in the two party system, he needs to run in one of the two parties if he is going to have any chance.”

Luca Torretta, St. Louis

Torretta, 19, is a graduate of St. John Vianney High School in Kirkwood and grew up in South City on the Hill.

The video communications major said, “I am glad to be able to participate in the election process and I will be voting on Tuesday.

“I hear lots of political discussions on campus, but most of them are not credible,” Toretta said. “(Webster) is a liberal school. we have lots of art majors and we tend to be more Democratic than Republican."

Torretta learned what he knows about elections from his political science classes back in high school. 

Paige Seber, Houston (Texas)

A freshman, age 18, Seber has yet to register to vote.

“My aunt told me Missouri is a bellwether swing state and it is important to vote here. I plan on getting a permanent address in Missouri and doing that,” she said.

Seber comes from a house divided.

“The younger members of my family are Democrats mostly," she said "My grandparents are very conservative and they strictly vote Republican.”

Seber isn’t sure about the level of concern on campus.

“I didn’t even realize the primary was this Tuesday. I don’t hear too much discussion about that.”

Cole Weiche, Clayton

Editor's Note: Cole Weiche is the son of frequent Patch contributor Rhonda Weiche.

Weiche, 18, is from Fort Smith, Arkansas and moved to Clayton for his senior year in high school. He is majoring in video and communications.

“I’m glad to be able to participate in my first election," Weiche said. "I hear a lot of negativity surrounding local politics. There are mostly Democrats here. The Republicans are definitely in the minority.”

Weiche is very cautious about his leaders.

“Politicians can be very shifty. For the most part, I really don’t trust them. I’m really not big into politics at all,” he said.

Will you vote on Super Tuesday? Please share your thoughts in our comments section.