The Shippensburg University Honor’s Program held a 2012 election preview on Tuesday, Sept. 18. The session provided bipartisan information on the presidential candidates with the use of speakers and a slideshow presentation.

The students of the Honor’s Program started the session by giving a brief background on each candidate. They described the families of President Barack Obama and presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The speakers also talked about the lives of the two candidates before they decided to run in the 2012 presidential election. Obviously, Obama was president, but before he was elected in 2008, he taught constitutional law and then later became a senator.

Romney ran as a presidential nominee in the 2008 Republican primaries but lost against John McCain.

The students then described the stances of each candidate on the most important issues on which this campaign is based.

They started with the issues of gun control and public safety. Obama has not proposed any new laws to take away or decrease gun use, yet he is strongly opposed by the NRA.

Romney, who is supported by the NRA, has done more to increase gun control, such as banning assault rifles when he was governor of Massachusetts.

The candidate’s stances on environmental issues were also discussed. President Obama has delayed the installation of the Keystone Pipeline that would stretch from Canada through the United States, but Romney wants a more privatized government so he supports the pipeline.

Romney also supports offshore drilling and the use of nuclear energy, while Obama wants America to use alternative energy sources.

With the issue of education, Romney wants to focus more on K-12 and the creation of charter schools. Obama’s focus is on higher education and making college more affordable.

The speakers then discussed social issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Obama supports gay marriage as well as the women’s right to choose. While in office, he has repealed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Romney opposes gay marriage and is pro-life. He wants to end federal funding for programs like Planned Parenthood.

The two most debated topics, healthcare and the economy, were brought up. As president, Obama created the Affordable Care Act, which puts many restrictions on insurance companies.

However, Romney wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act. To improve the economy, Obama wants to cut taxes for the middle class and small businesses.

Romney wants to put a cap on government spending. Both candidates, however, are projected to add $6 trillion to $8 trillion to the national debt.

The last issue the students talked about was foreign policy. Both candidates want to keep a strong relationship with Israel.

Obama wants to focus on reducing the threat of nuclear weapons. Romney wants to work with Latin America to end the drug cartels in Mexico.

The second election preview session will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 25 and will include a look at the current congressional races.

Share