When Andover faculty head to the polls on November 6, the majority will be voting for President Barack Obama, according to a survey given to faculty by The Phillipian. 84 percent of surveyed faculty members would vote for Obama, while 11.3 percent would vote for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The survey was sent to all members of the community considered faculty by the school, even if they do not teach in a classroom setting. Ninety-two of the 219 faculty, as well as 14 administrators, responded. Of the remaining 4.7 percent of respondents who chose a third party candidate, three respondents chose Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee, while two favored Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party nominee. Sixty-one females and 45 males responded to the survey. 69.8 percent of the surveyed pool identified with the Democratic Party, compared to 21.7 percent who identified with the Independent Party. 6.6 percent, or seven respondents, identified as Republicans, and 1.8 percent identified with a third party. Of the 23 faculty members who identified as Independents, 60.9 percent said that they would vote for Obama and 26.1 percent would vote for Romney. In The Phillipian’s poll of students last week, 65.3 percent of 636 surveyed students indicated that they would vote for Obama. Faculty chose the economy 79 times as the issue most important to their selection of a candidate, making it the most frequently chosen issue. Health care was second with 78 selections. Education and women’s rights were also cited frequently, with 74 and 69 selections, respectively. According to The Phillipian’s poll of students last week, the most important issue for students was also the economy. Education had the second most selections, followed by national debt, education and health care. When asked if they shared political views with their classes, 81 percent of 100 faculty respondents to the question indicated that they do not share their political views. All respondents to this question who identified as either Republicans or Independents said that they do not share their political views in the classroom. Party identity varied slightly by sex among respondents. 75.4 percent of the 61 female faculty respondents identified as Democrats, 23 percent as Independents and 6.6 percent as Republicans. Of 45 male respondents, 68.9 percent identified as Democrats, 20 percent as Independents and 6.7 percent as Republicans. Faculty in different academic departments held only slightly differing political opinions, according to poll data. Of the 58 respondents who indicated their departments, the majority in each department identified with the Democratic Party. 84.2 percent of the 19 respondents who teach English identified as Democrats. One English faculty member identified as Independent, one as Republican and one as a member of the Green Party. Six of the eight history instructors who responded identified themselves with the Democratic Party, with the other two identifying as Republican and Independent, respectively. Fifteen mathematics faculty and 15 foreign language faculty responded to the survey. In both groups, eleven members identified as Democrats, three as Independents and one as a Republican. Ten science faculty identified as Democrats, three identified as Independent, and one identified as Republican. 99 of the 106 faculty members who responded were eligible voters. Of that 99, 97 said that they plan to vote in the upcoming election.
