Spurred on by Proposition B, 1,925 students, faculty and staff at Southeast Missouri State University registered to vote in an on-campus registration drive that ended earlier this month.
Most of them, 1,806, are students. The remaining 119 are university employees, including faculty. The registration figures include those who transferred their registration, as well as those who registered for the first time.
Jason Norton, a senior at Southeast who was deputized through the Cape Girardeau County Clerk's office, handled the registration effort.
He said the on-campus registration effort and Proposition B were big factors in getting students to register.
"If we had no (registration) service on campus and no Proposition B, very few would have registered to vote. But we had it accessible and there was an issue," said Norton.
Some students who registered early this fall may have done so "because it was the thing to do," said Norton. But, he maintained that those who registered later in the fall were clearly motivated by Proposition B, the tax-and-reform measure for education that will be on the Nov. 5 election ballot.
The statewide issue has been heavily publicized on the university campus by administrators, student leaders and faculty and staff members.
Rose Mesnier, 21, who resides at Dearmont residence hall on campus, transferred her registration to Cape Girardeau County because it was "just a lot easier, more convenient for me."
She added, "It was specifically Proposition B that encouraged me to register."
Said Mesnier, "You would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to know about it, because the information is out there. They (university officials) have encouraged our professors to talk about it.
"I have one professor who is totally in support of it, and every time a piece of equipment isn't working properly, he says vote for Proposition B," she said.
Mesnier said it's not just a question of trying to keep tuition costs from continually escalating. "Even before I knew that the tuition would go up (for the spring semester), I was in support of Proposition B," said Mesnier, who is president of the university's Residence Hall Association, the central governing body for the campus residence halls.
"I am an issue person," she said. "If something is going to affect me, then I am going to get out and support it or not support it."
Jennifer Schertel, 21, a senior at Southeast, also transferred her registration so it would be easier to vote in the Nov. 5 election.
Schertel, who is vice president of Student Government, said university students are concerned about education.
"We (the university) need the money badly," she maintained. "We have such a large voter base right here at the university that students will be one of the best ways to get the votes."
Schertel has been working with the university's Proposition B committee since this summer. She said presentations have been made to student organizations, faculty and staff about Proposition B.
For many students, this is not just another election, she pointed out. "They have something at stake," she said. "This is their school. They know that their school needs money and they know that their vote helps (provide needed funding)."
But she said that not all students at Southeast have a clear picture of proposed educational reforms contained in Proposition B.
"I don't think they completely understand it," she said, "but they know it is going to bring money, and when there is money involved, that is going to help improve something."
Amy Hammen, 21, a senior at Southeast, will be voting for the first time Nov. 5.
An education major, Hammen said "the state of Missouri" needs some help in funding schools.
"It's not only the money, but the money is needed to make the reforms happen," she said.
Hammen said she believes most Southeast students are informed about Proposition B. "The university has done a tremendous job with its Proposition B campaign."
If it were not for Proposition B, she said, "I would probably be waiting until I graduated and settled in a place to register to vote."
Karen Price, who lives off campus in Cape Girardeau, said she transferred her registration from the St. Louis area so she could more easily vote in the upcoming election.
She said she plans to vote for Proposition B. "I guess I just thought it would be my contribution to help get the extra money we need for our school."
Price, a 21-year-old senior, said she believes Proposition B would provide increased money for new equipment and building improvements.
It could also provide more teachers, which could reduce class sizes, she said. Some classes, she said, now have 60 students in them. "They are offering fewer classes," she explained.
Price predicted students will get out and vote. "We can see the budget cuts and how they are affecting us."
Dean Cowan, a 22-year-old senior from Sikeston, has been a regular voter since he was 18.
Cowan, who will be voting in Sikeston again this year, said he had encouraged fellow students to register during the on-campus registration drive.
"I think we are kind of shortchanging ourselves by not spending money on education," said Cowan, who plans to vote for Proposition B.
Both his parents are teachers in the Sikeston School District. As a result, Cowan said that he's well aware of Proposition B in terms of both funding and reforms.
He said Southeast students have been told that unless Proposition B passes, students can look forward to more tuition hikes.
"Either more money has to come in or less money has to go out," he said.
For Cowan and many other students, Proposition B is an issue worth voting for.
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