Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and Hilary Clinton might be dominating national news headlines, but Greencastle has its own political drama—complete with names DePauw students will recognize from both around campus and in the classroom.
A trifecta of candidates who are currently associated with the university are on the ballot for Nov. 3. Each is running for a different office, but all of them urge students to head to the polls.
Eric Wolfe is running for Greencastle’s City Clerk Treasurer, while Adam Cohen and Gary Lemon are running for two different city council seats.
“It’s important for students to be engaged in elections where they live the majority of the year," said Eric Wolfe, former DePauw employee and now a candidate for Greencastle’s Clerk Treasurer. "Which when you’re at DePauw is here in Greencastle. As a student you have a choice—you can vote where you go to school or your permanent address is.”
“People at DePauw need to pay attention,” said DePauw men’s swimming coach and eight-year Greencastle city councilman, Adam Cohen. “They can attend debates, they can support candidates, they can vote. There are few things that can have a positive or negative effect on our community like local elections.”
All United States citizens who are DePauw students can vote in the local election. However, in order to vote, students must first register.
According to the Indiana Election Division, the final day for voter registration is Monday, October 5. That means students have just two days to complete their registration—if it’s not completed, students will be unable to vote this November.
“Just because you register [to vote] here, doesn’t mean you’re locked-in to vote here,” Wolfe said.
This is important because if a student lives in a swing-state for the general election they can re-register in their home district.
“You’ll need an Indiana ID or a Federal photo ID, so what that means for students is a passport if they’re not a permanent Indiana resident,” Wolfe said.
Early voting starts Oct. 6 at the Putnam County courthouse on the Square. Wolfe recommends for students to vote early to avoid their votes being challenged and to avoid long lines.
“In 2008, when Barack Obama was running for President, we had a number of students that were turned away from the polls, either because they didn’t have the right ID or because the people at the polling place wanted to challenge their votes,” Wolfe said.
Both Wolfe and Cohen stress the importance that students play in elections.
“Students, faculty, and staff need to be involved in this election, they need to be informed,” Cohen said. “They need to read what all the candidates are saying about the role of the college in our town. They need to understand how important the downtown is.”
In the case of influence, all votes in Greencastle matter.
“Our local elections can be decided by, in many cases, less than 50 votes, so our city council seats can be decided by a handful of votes,” Wolfe said. “If you were to get say, 10 Fijis to vote that can change the race. For me it can come down to less than 100 votes, matter of fact, I suspect it will. Students can have a huge impact.”
Lemon, an economic and management professor told the Banner Graphic he hopes to bring the city of Greencastle to the next level.
“The past 40 years have seen a remarkable change in the Greencastle community from the closing of the IBM plant to the winning of the Stellar grant,” Lemon said. “The Stellar grant from the state of Indiana gave the city a chance to make a quantum leap forward which the city seized. It is important that the city continue the movement forward by bringing together all of the elements of the city.”
Please note: Gary Lemon was unable to respond, before press time, to an email sent Thursday afternoon.