Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain's differing educational platform policies would affect all college students in universities across the country; still, many AU students are currently unaware of what either candidate's policies entail.
While both candidates agree that President Bush's "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001 is severely lacking and will not seek to renew it if either becomes president, that's where their similarities end. The greatest difference between Obama and McCain's education policies lies in the degree of involvement of the federal government, and federal funding for school systems, according to the candidates' Web sites.
Although McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin have attacked Obama for his education policies, including their campaign ad about Obama's sex education for elementary school students, they have been much less verbal about their own education policies.
Lauren Feldman, a School of Communication professor, said she thinks that education is not a top priority in the election.
"Unfortunately, education is not a 'sexy,' hot-button issue like the economy or Iraq and thus will be unlikely to garner much media attention," she said.
Feldman said she thinks college students should pay attention to Obama's proposal to offer a $4,000 tax credit for college tuition in exchange for community service. McCain offers no similar plan and promises only to simplify existing benefits, she said.
Feldman said she thinks McCain's campaign has been focused on keeping Obama "on the defensive" and trying to keep him from staying on message.
"[McCain] has prevented [Obama] from engaging on issues where he is able to align McCain with the Bush administration, whether that be on education policy, economic policy or Iraq policy," she said. "The strategy seemed to have worked."
While the main plank of Obama's education policy is to increase federal funding for education by $10 billion, the main plank of McCain's education policy is to enforce a full voucher system for all students, according to the candidates' recent speeches and information on their campaign Web sites.
Under Obama's proposal of increased federal funding, the government would institute an early childhood education program. Under McCain's voucher system, children could go on to private school with the government's financial assistance, according to news reports.
Katie Solitrin, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said she has a problem with McCain's voucher system.
"I think it is a program that is such a drastic shift away from having a controlled system that you get distanced from the whole community," she said.
Private schools have their own agenda, which the government can't influence, said Diane Hsiung, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs. However, she said that within public schools, local government can have influences within the education.
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