Kerong Kelly
Contributing Writer

On Sept. 17, the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy (BIPP) hosted a panel discussion on the potential outcome of the 2012 presidential election. The panel was comprised of University professors who spoke about the opposing viewpoints of President Obama and Mitt Romney on issues like healthcare and immigration. Among the panel of speakers were Professors of Economics Chris Magee and Nancy White, Associate Professor of Political Science Scott Meinke and Associate Professors of Economics Gregory Krohn, Amy Wolaver and Paula Kazi.

Initially, Krohn compared the idea of the “fiscal cliff” to Wile E. Coyote’s adventurous cliff diving experience, where he narrowly missed hitting the sharp boulders at the base of the mountain. The visual representation of the cartoon clip was not only effective, but engaging for the audience.

“I thought it was a great event for learning about specific policies, and it was good to actually solidify what my positions were. I don’t think it actually changed what I would do, but it made me realize what an average voter might think,” Ben Dorman ’15 said.

Though the event was overall very informative for some, others thought it did not encompass enough of the two candidates’ viewpoints.

“I felt that they did not do a lot in getting us to know what the general application of these policies were or the general effect they might have,” Julius Kakwenzire ’16 said.

Even though time was limited for each presenter, the presentation covered a wide range of topics such as immigration and the misconceptions Americans have about it. Kazi spoke about myths such as immigrants being a drain on the federal government’s budget, and the negative immigrant influence on wages and the employment prospects of United States workers.

Toward the end of the presentation, the panel discussed the topic of voter ID laws in Pennsylvania.

“Generally, we have kids coming from affluent families. When they come here for classes, they see some of the benefits, like what tax revenues are used for,” Kazi said.

She believes that informed voting is of significant importance to this campus.