Although they are unable to vote in the presidential elections, international students have strong opinions about whether George W. Bush or John F. Kerry should win.
"I think international students feel this is a chance for the American people to make a decision about what has happened in the last four years and show the world how they feel," said Daphne Leger, a freshman in the School of International Service who is originally from France. "I don't think a lot of people here realize that."
Leger, who has also lived in California, India and Canada, said international students like herself are affected a lot by who wins tomorrow, even if they can't vote.
She encourages American students to vote. "I'd like to see everyone who has a chance to vote to do so, and I'd like them to think about their decision," Leger said. "I'd like to see democracy at work."
Leger said that the people from the places she has lived think the same way. "Basically, people are amazed with what is going on. We want to see the American people say something about it with a vote," she said. "It'll be interesting to see how many don't vote. They have the power to influence, but they don't."
The war in Iraq is an issue that the world population cares about, according to international students at AU.
Genoveva Boama, a freshman in the Kogod School of Business who is from Ghana, is against the war.
"Ghanians would say they do not like Bush because of the war, because we are a very peaceful people," Boama said. "Ghanians don't care who rules America, just about the war."
However, Paulo Santos, a sophomore from Brazil, agrees with some aspects of Bush's foreign policy.
"I'm a republican because they are more free-market oriented, and that is better for my country," said Santos, who is in the SIS. "One thing I think Bush proposed is hardening international debt that certain Third World countries have. I think that is good because in Latin America, one of the main reasons for anti-Americanism is because Latin American countries have received a lot of loans from the United States through the [International Monetary Fund] and the World Bank."
However, Brazilians, in general, favor Kerry, Santos said.
"One of the main reasons is the war in Iraq," he said. "People in Latin America are very idealistic, and if you ask most of them, they believe no Iraqi citizen should die because of oil," he said. "They favor Kerry because they believe Bush's foreign policies have been arrogant."
However, Linda Beck, a student from Germany, said the candidates should not have focused so much on the war in Iraq.
"They're putting too much emphasis on the war in Iraq than domestic stuff, which seems more important," said Beck, a freshman in the School of Communication.
Beck said she supports the president. "If I could vote, I'd vote for Bush," she said. "I like how Bush is sticking to his point. Kerry is very wishy-washy."
Beck said her family agrees with her because they think Bush is a stronger candidate. "I think if anyone had to be in his position, he'd be hated because of the decision he had to make," she said.
Boama said Ghanians would like to see former President Bill Clinton back in office. In 1998, Clinton made the first presidential visit to sub-Saharan Africa in more than 20 years.
"Africans love him. They tend to overlook the Monica Lewinsky issue because they look at what he did for world peace," said Boama, who has lived in the United States since July but has spent summers in the States since 1996.
In 2000, the Clinton administration gave Africa $20 million in American aid to fight diseases such as AIDS and malaria, according to The Associated Press. The Bush administration has pledged $14 billion to Africa to fight AIDS. Kerry plans to provide $30 billion by 2008 to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.
