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The phrase, “Hi, are you here to vote?” echoed in the entrance of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center while red, white and blue signs directed voters in the correct direction.

This was the first time in recent years that the rec center was a polling place for students living on campus and Kent residents.

Freshman pre-med major Caleb Quillen was among many

first- time voters yesterday.

“I feel like this is the most important election I might take part in,” he said. “I really want to be a part of it.”

Some out-of-state students encountered a few problems when they came to vote. They didn’t have any form of in-state identification that provided their local address, preventing them from voting.

To solve the problem, the Bursar’s Office extended its hours so students could get their bills printed that had their local addresses on them. Drivers were available at the rec center to help provide transportation to those students without a vehicle who needed to get to a polling location.

Many students felt relieved after they voted because it meant the campaign advertisements would stop.

Freshman English major Jay Lacure, who voted in his first election yesterday, said he liked the campaign advertisements at first, but they got old to him after a couple of months.

“It’s good that they are getting information out about the candidates,” he said. “By putting so much of the information, out it seems like they are looking down on us because it seems like we can’t find the information ourselves.”

Others agreed and said they were happy the election season was coming to an end.

“There was too much hype about Obama, even though I’m an Obama supporter,” Quillen said. “It got really annoying.”

Junior business administration major Nick Davis voted in his second presidential election this year and said he was even more frustrated with the advertisements on television this election than last.

“It’s just frustrating because you know that both parties are putting spins on the other candidate,” he said. “I think in the future it would be beneficial if there were more sources of unbiased information.”

Even with this being Davis’s second election, he changed his views since the last.

“Last time I voted Republican,” he said. “This time I voted for a Democrat.”

Contact student recreation and wellness reporter Melissa Sidebotham at [email protected].