Name: Andrea Christman

Age: 19

College major: Individualized Studies

Hometown: Oxford, Ohio

Party affiliation: Democratic

Choice for president: Barack Obama 

Andrea Christman sits at a table in a common room in Peabody Hall engaging in a lively debate with several other Peabody residents about this year’s presidential election.

Although there are multiple political parties represented around the table, everyone is in good spirits and appears to be engaging and benefiting from this conversation.

Christman stresses the importance of programs set up to assist people in need in this election and Josh DeAmicis, a first-year Peabody resident, questions her point, bringing up the economic impact some of these programs will have. From across the table, Max Verellen, another first-year Peabody resident, interjects that America is not going to survive if it does not take care of its own citizens.

This political debate is characteristic of the discussions that take place in the free time of Peabody residents with their resident assistant, Christman.

Christman is a sophomore at Miami University and is an enthusiastic supporter of President Barack Obama. Christman is 19 years old and was born and raised in Oxford, Ohio. She engages actively in leadership on campus as both a Summer Orientation Undergraduate Leader and a resident assistant in Peabody Hall.

Christman is a very outgoing and blunt person. She describes her motto in life as, “nothing is awkward unless you say it is” and she certainly lives by those words. While many individuals, especially college students, feel uncomfortable discussing politics due to a fear of causing tension with people with contrasting opinions or from a strict lack of knowledge, Christman is 100 percent comfortable sharing her opinions. Most of her time is spent with her residents having vivacious discussions on many topics, with an emphasis on this year’s political election.

Christman’s residents appear to be at ease around her. Mark Gamble, a Romney supporter living in Peabody described her leadership style as strict, yet compassionate and another resident, Max Verellen, refered to Christman as “someone [he is]completely comfortable talking to, regardless of the topic.”

Christman is just one of many college students that find President Obama more appealing as a leader than his opponent, Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

According to a 2012 national survey of college students conducted by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, 67 percent of college students give President Obama a positive job rating, supporting him for re-election by more than two to one over Mitt Romney.

Christman’s mother, Sara Christman, said her daughter cannot wait to get to the polls and vote for the first time.

Both mother and daughter are avid Obama supporters, based strongly upon Obama’s viewpoints on social issues. Andrea agrees with Obama largely when it comes to social activism and equal rights for all people. Her mother puts a strong emphasis on women’s rights and stated that abortion is an important issue influencing her vote.

With these controversial issues weighing so heavily in the minds of the Christman women, it is invaluable, in their opinions, to share these viewpoints with prospective voters.

Despite her slight dissatisfaction with the way the president conducted himself in the debate, Andrea said she would rather follow a leader who was thorough enough to take notes while he listened during a debate than one who simply rushed through the argument of his opponent and addressed only the topics he saw fit.