Campus opinions- UMass Amherst

AMHERST—Election-season discourse at UMass has moved from lecture halls and classrooms to permeate the Student Union, auditoriums, and dormitories. Many once-passive observers and news absorbers are now car-pooling to battleground states like New Hampshire, stumping for their candidate.

Massachusetts is expected to have a higher percentage of Democratic voters, and its flagship university is no exception. But rather than fading to blue, many of the conscientious have individualized their vote by focusing on the issues instead of candidates. Chief among them is the economy. The Federal government was once seen as far removed from the Campus Pond and our large, brick library, but the bailout's effects are being felt here.

UMass-Amherst Chancellor Robert Holub held his breath when Governor Patrick starting cutting the state budget. When the governor was done, Holub might have wanted to pass out. The campus is coping with a $12 million hole in the budget that formed spontaneously at a time when Patrick had pledged more money for MassGRANT, the state's need-based financial system, and when Holub was pushing to hire more faculty and move the university onto the upper tier of national research institutions. The budget cuts, combined with the prospect of the passage of Question 1 -- which would eliminate the state's income tax -- has some wondering whether the dorms might be a few degrees colder in coming years.

Boston.com solicited the opinions of six local college newspaper editors on the mood of their campus as the election nears.