UCF students couldn't identify gubernatorial candidates days before the midterm election
One student guessed that Governor Rick Scott (R) was Mitt Romney.
UCF students were unable to identify either gubernatorial candidate.
Just days before the election, students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) were unable to identify either gubernatorial candidate. However, the vast majority of UCF students were able to identify the pop-star Ke$ha, a video by Knight News shows.
The purpose of the video was to see if “people knew who was running for governor,” explained student reporter Danielle Apolinar. Knight News quickly learned that the majority of students did not.
“Politics?” one student asked when shown a picture of former Governor Charlie Crist (D).
“Mitt… Romney,” another student guessed when shown a picture of Republican Governor Rick Scott.
“I’ve seen him in a commercial. I just can’t remember his name,” another student said of Scott.
This is not the first time Florida college students have had confusion over gubernatorial candidates. Students at a Charlie Crist rally at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) did not believe Crist had previously served as governor (he served as governor as recently as four years ago).
It seems as though students' apathy towards the mid-term elections mirrors that of those leading Florida’s higher-ed colleges and universities.
On the night of the election, FAU failed to host any “politically oriented” event but instead hosted a sex workshop.
It is unclear if UCF held any political events as the returns came in.
The video depicting UCF students’ inability to identify the gubernatorial candidates took place on the same day that Crist himself visited the campus, along with President Bill Clinton.
UCF is the second-largest university in the United States based on enrollment, one of the nation’s top party schools, and the least rigorous school in the nation.
Seven percent of votes cast in Florida came from 18-24 year olds, according to a Fox News exit poll. Governor Rick Scott was re-elected.
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