Who the heck is Rick Santorum?
There’s a Penn State alum and Republican candidate running for the 2016 presidential election and no-one knows who he is
Rick Santorum. Pennsylvanian. Republican. Catholic. Member of the House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995. Pennsylvania Senator from 1995 to 2007. Unsuccessful candidate for re-election as Senator in 2006. Unsuccessful candidate for nomination in the presidential race 2012. Penn State University Class of 1980.
There are many labels you could give to the man contesting for the Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential election. He is not new to the scene, having run for nomination in 2012 and carrying eleven states to win just over 20 percent of the popular vote.
He’s against gay marriage, cannabis legalization, and immigration. He’s a supporter of gun rights, free-trade, and teaching Intelligent Design Creationism in schools.
And he’s an alum.
All Penn State students and alumni feel a special bond to each other, so The Tab wondered what current PSU students thought about the nominee. Do students agree with his policies? Do we know who he is? We decided it was a nice sunny day to take to the lawn of Old Main and find out.
So, PSU: do you know who Rick Santorum is?
Madison Benfield, Senior, Labor & Employment Relations
“No.”
Suhail Bin Jarn, Sophomore, Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering
“No. I mean I do, but not a lot about him.”
Shannon Abrams, Senior, Biobehavioral Health
“Isn’t he running for president?”
Yep! What’s your opinion of him?
Shannon: “No opinion––I just don’t know a lot about him.”
Steve Gaspar, Sophomore, Architectural Engineering & Joe Habel, Sophomore Physics & Math
Joe: “Yes.”
Steve: “Who dat? I feel like I should know this.”
OK, Joe, whadda ya know?
Joe: “Not a fan. I’m a registered Democrat.”
Steve: “Oh! He’s a politician!”
Sarah Chon, Junior, Journalism
“No, I don’t.”
Cazembe Dywer, Fifth-year, IST
[En route to bus.] “No, I’ve heard of him. But I don’t know.”
Arielle Boisrond, Fifth-year, Forensic Science & Criminology, English Minor
“No. He sounds familiar? I might have heard of him…you know, I know his name. I’ll probably remember him when I get home, haha.”
In the middle of our quest, we ran into a Notre Dame Student. Even though “she doesn’t even go here,” and she didn’t want to give her name or have her picture taken, we thought we might as well ask her…
Do you know who Rick Santorum is?
Anonymous, Notre Dame Freshman, Neuroscience & Behavior
“Yes.”
What’s your opinion of him?
“Neutral. I don’t know much about him.”
There you have it, PSU. We can only say that, if our results match with the general campus consensus, Rick (whoever he is) certainly isn’t going to get very far this election season, at least not with Penn State (or Notre Dame) students.