Election Day Stories 2012
Election Day. The candidates have finished campaigning. Election volunteers are getting out the vote, working the polls and making last minute phone calls. Voters will finally have the chance to have their say.
College of Communications multimedia students posted Election Day stories throughout the day.
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First time voter
Zach Magnotta, 21, voted for the first time today. The endless line snaking into his State College polling place did not make him any less enthusiastic about casting his first ballot. Although he brought his driver's license and voter ID card, he said the polling officials did not ask him to present any form of identification.
~ by Eric Visintainer
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Election Day reunion
Dave Ruggiero is the community supported agriculture manager for Village Acre Farm in Mifflintown, which delivers fresh organic produce and other farm products to clients in State College nearly every Tuesday of the year. The distribution point just so happens to be outside of a popular polling location for Penn State students. So once a year -- and especially during presidential election years -- Ruggiero gets a unique perspective of the voting process, sharing the voting day experience of students and State College residents.
~ by Mike Stehlin
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Students for Barack Obama hoping for high student turnout
Kathryn Perrotta has been preparing for the election with Students for Barack Obama and is hoping that students exercise their right today and vote.
~ by Rena Samuels
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Jay Helps Voters
Jay Paterno, son of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, was in the HUB-Robeson Center Tuesday helping college students navigate their way through the polling center.
Paterno said that he believes that it's important for young Americans to vote. He encourages them to get out and vote, no matter which candidate they support.
~ by Brian Cronauer
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First Vote First of Many to Come
Ishara Pinkney-Lee, a senior, studying psychology had the opportunity Tuesday to vote for the first time. She had made sure she was registered and knew exactly where she would be casting her ballot. It was an empowering experience for the Penn State senior who said she will continue to make voting a tradition every four years.
~ by Amanda Valdes
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Campaign volunteer continues tradition
MOUNTAIN TOP - Campaign volunteers come and go on election day, but Rice Township resident Kevin Rogan, a campaign volunteer for incumbent Rep. Gerald Mullery, makes it a priority to work election day every year. Rogan said he has volunteered in about 10 elections, including this year's general election. He stopped by the Rice Township polling place in the local fire hall about 6:45 a.m. and worked outside the building throughout the day.
~ by Brian Yermal
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Blogging From the Polls
The polls opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday and closed 13 hours later. A Daily Collegian reporter was on the scene to live blog from each polling place in the State College area. Toi Bain (senior-journalism) was outside the Friends Meeting House at 611 E. Prospect Ave. to post what happened at the polls between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
~ by Alyse Horn
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Excercising Their Right NOT to Vote
Even with an effort to get out the vote for college students, some people are still opting not to head over to the polls. For two Penn State students, the urge to vote is not as important as it may be when they graduate.
~ by Mirella Wells
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First-time Voters
Thousands of Penn State students cast their vote in the Hub-Robertson Center at Penn State Tuesday. For many this was their first time voting.
~by Allen Vickers
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A Vote for Romney
First-time voter Kaila Lundgren talks about her decision to vote for Mitt Romney for President. Lundgren, a health policy and administration major, disagrees with Obama’s current health care policy and hopes Romney wins the election.
~by Ashley Zucker
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A Republican voter goes to the polls
Nikki Broome is a Pennsylvania voter who is a Republican and plans to vote for Mitt Romney during this presidential election.
~ by Dana Griffin
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First-time voter hits the polls
Gabriella Colombo is a senior at Penn State studying Biobehavioral Health. Colombo is a first time voter in this 2012 presidential election and was excited to express her American right to vote and let her voice be heard.
~ by Christiana Pascale
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Interest From the Other Side of the World
Ruth Merritt , the Judge of Elections for Precinct 17 in State College, PA., was interviewed by a student journalist from China, reminding Merritt that the whole world is watching our Election Night.
~ by Matt Reilly
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A Photojournalist at the Polls
Sarah Finnegan, photo editor for The Daily Collegian, tells how she finds and captures images while covering the election Tuesday, and the difficulties of being a photojournalist under a new rule which prohibits photography within 10 feet of a polling place.
~by Kelly Tunney
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Working the polls for the GOP
Doug Hartman works outside the Halfmoom Township polling place on Election Day for the Republican Party. Early Tuesday morning, he was passing out pamphlets to voters as they waited in line to cast their ballot.
~by Brittany Corl
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Volunteer for Obama
Bob Fox is a senior IST major at Penn State. He has been volunteering with the Obama campaign by helping to raise voting awareness on Election Day. He has never done something like this before, but says it is a rewarding experience. He plans on being directly involved in the election for years to come.
~ by Mike Bray
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Former county prosecutor volunteers at the polls
A former prosecutor with the Centre County District Attorney's office, local lawyer Tony De Boef is spending Election Day as a polling place attorney with the Democratic Party. In that role, he's keeping an eye out for possible violations at the State College Municipal Building on Allen Street.
~ by Casey McDermott
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Romney Supporter vies for last-minute votes
Dale Lancaster, a local Mitt Romney supporter, chatted with Harris Township voters this morning as they stood together before casting their ballots. Although, many come to the polls already knowing whom they are going to vote for, Lancaster hoped to swing the few voters who were still undecided.
~ by Jennifer Swales
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As the polls open
As the polls open, Rachel Fanchesin and Kristine Surgent guide voters to their proper polling places in the HUB on the morning of Election Day.
~ by Allison Robertson
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The volunteer
Steve Miller spent election day as an election volunteer outside of the State College Evangelical Free Church, talking to voters about the proposal on the ballot to ban fracking. He spoke about his first election experience in 1972, when he was in college.
~ by Lynn Ondrusek
About the Contributors
Brittany Corl
Senior / Broadcast Journalism
Brittany Corl is a senior at the Pennsylvania State University, graduating in December 2012. She is majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in sociology. Brittany has interned with Fox News Channel since May 2011, including representing Penn State for Fox News Channel University. She helped cover the Jerry Sandusky child-sex abuse scandal for both the Centre County Report and Fox News Channel throughout the scandal. Brittany loves producing news and hopes to one day produce for a national news company.
Twitter: @BrittCorl
mirellawells
Senior / Broadcast Journalism
Mirella Wells is a senior from Yardley, Pa. majoring in broadcast journalism with minors in both history and English. She is an active member of the ComRadio news team as a reporter, anchor and most recently a producer. She is a hard working student who pays great attention to detail in her writing and work. She worked as an intern for WBCB 1490 in Levittown, PA. After graduation, she aspires to be a reporter for a local radio or television station in the Philadelphia area.
Eric Visintainer
December 2012 Graduate / Journalism
I’m a State College-based reporter for the Centre County Report, a weekly newscast aired by WPSU. I research and report on local news from the Centre county, Pa. I work with 17 talented senior journalist students to bring the most important facts quickly and effectively in an engaging format.
I have had experience in a number of diverse news platforms from radio to newspaper.
I am interested in breaking into political, sports or international news. And in the long-run I want to become a managing editor.
Feel free to send story ideas or tips to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and to follow me on twitter @ericvisin.
Allen Vickers
Senior / Broadcast Journalism
Allen Michael Vickers is a senior from Lawnside New Jersey, and majoring in Broadcast Journalism at Penn State. He is currently a sports intern with Penn State Basketball: In The Paint. The past two summers, Allen Vickers has interned at 97.5 the Fanatic in Philadelphia and All-Hit B-94.5 in State College, Pa. Allen Vickers has worked the past three years at Comradio. Allen Vickers has written articles about the Philadelphia 76ers for the Bleacher Report. He is a passionate Philadelphia sports fan.
Amanda Valdes
Senior / Broadcast Journalism
Amanda is a Penn State student who will be graduating in December 2012 with a Baccalaureate degree in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Psychology. She has interned with Eagle 98.7, a local radio station in State College, PA. She was able to experience different aspects of the radio industry including promotions, sales and being on air.
Amanda participated in ComRadio during her college career, where she was able to co-anchor shows, compose her own
scripts and gather interviews and sounds for stories.
Amanda interned at WCBS-TV in New York City in Summer 2012. During her internship she was able to go out on stories with reporters, shoot her own video and create her own scripts and packages. Further duties included assisting producers and the assignment desk with stories as well as addressing ancillary tasks.
Amanda has worked with The Daily Collegian on their Metro staff as a
state reporter where she was able to enhance her interviewing skills and compose stories affecting the local and state community.
Upon graduating Amanda hopes to find a position that allows her to contribute and cultivate her passion for journalism. She hopes to attend graduate school in the near future.
Casey McDermott
2012 Graduate / Journalism
As her Twitter bio notes, Casey’s often most comfortable juggling some combination of a cellphone, coffee, pen and notepad in hand – and, chances are, you can find her doing just that in the basement offices of the James Building. There, she is settling into a new job as the editor in chief of Penn State’s independent student newspaper, The Daily Collegian. Casey served as the managing editor during the 2011-2012 academic year, and she previously held positions as the campus chief and a reporter on both campus and metro staffs.
A senior majoring in print journalism and sociology, she is a student in the Schreyer Honors College and a member of the Paterno Liberal Arts Undergraduate Fellows Program. This spring, she traveled to Rio de Janeiro as part of an international reporting class with the College of Communications. She has also interned for USA TODAY, where she worked primarily on the editorial page and wrote several articles for print.
Jennifer Swales
Senior / Journalism and English
Jennifer Swales is a senior at Penn State University in both the College of Communications and the College of Liberal Arts pursuing dual degrees in print journalism and English. She is a member of Kappa Tau Alpha (journalism and mass communication) and Alpha Sigma Lambda national honor societies. She recently traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in an international reporting class in collaboration with the McClatchy news service. The story produced was published in McClatchy newspapers across the country. She has also been a freelance writer for the Centre Daily Times newspaper and is currently a science writing intern with Penn State. Upon completion of her degrees, she would like to pursue a career as a newspaper or magazine journalist and would like to spend some time as a foreign correspondent.
Allison Robertson
Senior / English, Journalism
MattReilly
Senior / Communications
My name is Matt Reilly, and I’m currently in my final Semester at Penn State University. I’m planning on graduating with a degree in Communications and specifically with a Broadcast/Journalism degree. I’m originally from West Pittston, PA, tucked nicely in the suburbs of the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area. Before coming to main campus, I completed my freshman, and sophomore years at the branch campus of Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
Ashley Zucker
Senior / Visual Journalism/ RPTM
Visual Journalism major and RPTM (Recreation, parks, and tourism management) minor. Public Relations Chair for Penn State Snowboard Club and PSSC THON. Has worked at Levels nightclub shooting photography. Plans to freelance photography, own a tourism/travel company, and get into the music industry.
Rena Samuels
Senior / Telecommunication
My name is Rena Samuels, I’m a telecommunications major interested in post production work.
Dana Griffin
2013 / Broadcast Journalism
I am a broadcast journalism major minoring in theater. I currently work at B94.5 where I help produce and co-host the morning show.
Mike Stehlin
Senior / Broadcast Journalism/Crime, Law & Justice
Mike Stehlin is originally from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Mike has a strong background in sports broadcasting.
Mike Bray
Senior / Broadcast journalism
I am a senior at Penn State majoring in broadcast journalism with dual minors in business and Spanish. I aspire to begin my career in media or sports marketing upon graduation.
Lynn Ondrusek
Graduate / Print Journalism, Economics
I’m a print journalism and economics major and I’m interested in writing for a print news paper or get into online media as well. I’m also interested in getting into political writing as well.
Kelly Tunney
Senior / Visual Journalism, English
Kelly Tunney is a senior majoring in Photojournalism and English, and has served as multimedia editor and senior photographer for The Daily Collegian. He has held several production positions at Penn State Network TV News.
Courtney Carr
2013 Graduate / Broadcast Journalism
I’m Courtney Carr. I’m a broadcast journalism major. My future goal is to become an entertainment reporter.
Christiana Pascale
2012 Graduate / Journalism
Christiana is a senior majoring in Journalism and minoring in Kinesiology and will be graduating in December 2012. She is an aspiring Communications guru, Lion Ambassador and THON enthusiast.