Survey suggests most students unfamiliar with social studies, and 90 percent cannot name both of Tennessee's two U.S. Senators.

Candidate who? Senator who? These may be the questions students are asking themselves. A recent scientific survey conducted by The Pacer shows that UTM students do not believe they are well informed about the 2006 candidates for the U.S. Senate race in Tennessee and that only 9.9 percent of the students at UTM are able to name both of Tennessee’s current U.S. senators.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) will give up his Senate seat this year, allowing Tennessee voters to choose another candidate for the U.S. Senate this November. Contending for the Democratic Party nomination are U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) and state Sen. Rosalind Kurita. Vying for the Republican Party nomination are former Reps. Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant, as well as Chattanooga mayor Bob Corker. As campaign staffs try to get votes, they may find some difficulty in engaging college students in the election.

A survey conducted by The Pacer and administered by professors in Political Science 210 and 220 courses, as well as in all of the Public Speaking (Communications 230) classes on campus, found that 48 percent of the students plan on voting in the Senate election this fall.

Twenty-one percent of the students said they do not plan to vote in the election and 29 percent said they did not know if they would vote.

“I don’t believe I will vote (in the U.S. Senate election) because I do not really keep up with what’s going on at that level,” said UTM student James Knox of Memphis.

Freshman Allister Wilton of Martin said he wants to vote so that he can have the right to complain. “The president can make a lot of decisions, but the Senate has to pass all of the important bills. I have a lot of family members who do not vote and they complain. If I vote then I will have a legitimate reason to be able to complain about what is going on,” Wilton said.

Regardless of whether students are voting, survey data suggests that the students do not know the candidates. Only 8 percent of the students strongly agree or agree that they are well informed about the candidates for whom they would be voting. Carol Andrews, communications director for the Harold Ford for Senate Campaign, said that voters may have more things on their minds right now.

“In the context of the campaign it is very early. People at this time in the year are engaged in starting off a new year, getting their kids back in school, starting back to college, digging in and doing what they need to do to make a living. They are thinking about paying their taxes. People are very busy and it’s difficult to engage them in a campaign this early,” Andrews said.

Students admit they do not know much about the Senate candidates, but the surveys indicate that they do not know much about their current U.S. Senators either. Of the students surveyed, only 9.91 percent of them were able to successfully name Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Sen. Lamar Alexander, a former Tennessee governor.

When asked to name Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators, student responses included current Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, former Tennessee Govs. Don Sundquist and Ned Ray McWherter, Tennessee Congressman John Tanner, U.S. Senators John McCain, Arlen Specter and Ted Kennedy.

Andrews said that she finds this information surprising. “Wow. That boggles my mind. I think it means that those folks are just not engaged. If you turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper Bill Frist is there. He’s in the headlines every single day. People just aren’t engaged,” Andrews said.

UTM Political Science instructor Frank Vaughn said that the survey results may mean that students are satisfied with what is going on in politics. “Most people, especially college students, are pretty pragmatic about politics; if they don’t feel that it’s necessary to inform themselves, then they don’t. That could be looked at as a lack of participation and a possible degree of satisfaction,” Vaughn said.

UTM has taken on recent projects to make sure students are more engaged in civics. Students in many classes now have the opportunity to get a copy of the New York Times newspaper as part of the American Democracy Project.

“The project is promoting a number of efforts including making the New York Times available for use in classrooms, organizing career events, co-sponsoring speakers who address topics related to civic engagement, and several other events/opportunities intended to draw students into civic involvement,” said Dr. Tom Rakes, vice chancellor of Academic Affairs.

The availability of the New York Times will provide more students with an opportunity to read newspapers. The survey conducted by The Pacer found that only 31 percent of students agreed that they read a newspaper on a regular basis while 46 percent agreed that they watch television news on a regular basis.

Other polling results indicate that 19 percent of the students believed they were politically active. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed claim to be Democrats, 37.8 percent claim to be Republicans, 13.4 percent claim to be a member of another political party or no party and 22.25 percent say that they do not know which political party they are affiliated with. Twenty-eight percent of students say they are well informed about political issues that face Tennessee and 51 percent say they are well informed about political issues that face the United States.

Sen. Frist’s press secretary, Matt Lehigh, did not comment on why he felt so few students were able to name their U.S. Senators.

“Senator Frist strongly believes that it is important for young people throughout the United States to engage in the political process. Legislative decisions affect their lives not only today, but for years to come,” Lehigh said.

The survey conducted by The Pacer polled 380 people: 23 percent were freshmen, 26 percent were sophomores, 25 percent were juniors and 24 percent were seniors. Ages of those polled ranged from 18-52, with a mean of 21. Survey results are based on a five percent margin of error.