:: UCLA TODAY Home

©2004
The Regents of the University of California
 

Sound bites

Q: As the Nov. 2 presidential election approaches, what’s the most important issue that will decide your vote?

Harue Suzuki, human resources manager, Department of Electrical Engineering

A: World peace is the most important issue for me. There’s chaos everywhere right now, and the next president has to work on making the world a more peaceful place. It’s really difficult to work on peace during a chaotic period, but whoever will be the next president will have a choice between fighting wars and making peaceful overtures. I feel so sad hearing about the deaths of our soldiers in war every day. Besides, if the world is peaceful, we can more positively work on important issues such as health and technology. If there’s chaos, a lot of energy is wasted.

Shane Rubio, fourth-year economics major

A: I’m going to vote for a president who stands by his word — a president who is going to take action when action is taken against the United States. Any type of terrorist activity against America must be met with military action.

Joseph Almog, professor of philosophy

A: How the United States conducts its international policy is my central issue. To me, the most negative thing today is not so much the failures of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the systematic breach of trust with the American public, which has caused people to be totally alienated. The next president must reestablish trust with the public, which is necessary for conducting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Stephanie Turner, fourth-year English major

A: My main issue is the environment in terms of conserving resources. A lot of the problems that the United States faces, even internationally, derive from our failure to conserve natural resources. Our reluctance to move toward ecologically sound cars, for example, permeates into other volatile issues. It is the reason we have to fight oil wars.