Political Science and Public Policy

North and South Carolinians believe that the United States is on the wrong track but generally approve of President Barack Obama’s performance during his first 100 days in office, according to the latest Elon University Poll. In particular, Carolinians are divided on the way Obama is handling the economy.

Elon University’s delegation to the 72nd Annual Session of the North Carolina Student Legislature received the Best Small University Delegation Award for the 2008-2009 year at the weekend gathering in Raleigh.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discussed a wide range of foreign policy issues at a news conference on campus prior to her March 31 Convocation address. She praised the work of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, but said they are facing not just foreign policy headaches, but the "whole emergency room."

Victoria “Tori” Davis, an Elon University political science and international studies double major, has been named the recipient of a 2009 Fulbright U.S. Student Grant, one of the premier fellowships for post-graduate international study.

Hunter Bacot, an associate professor of political science and director of the Elon University Poll, was interviewed twice by News 14 Carolina in recent days about the latest poll findings on issues ranging from President Barack Obama's approval ratings in North Carolina and how residents feel about same-sex marriage.

Half of North Carolinians oppose a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in the Tar Heel State, according to the latest Elon University Poll, but just one fifth of respondents support full marriage rights for gays and lesbians.

Elon University senior Victoria “Tori” Davis has been named the recipient of a DACOR Bacon House Foundation fellowship for graduate study in international affairs, a $10,000 award that will assist her this fall as she begins work toward a doctorate in political science en route to a career with the U.S. Foreign Service.

More than half of North Carolinians are unaware that state laws exist to allow public access to government records, according to the latest Elon University Poll, but nearly all respondents feel democracy is best when it operates openly.

A majority of North Carolinians favor laws to ban cell phone use while driving, even though more than half of mobile phone users report doing this regularly, according to the latest Elon University Poll. Respondents to the poll also supported a statewide ban on smoking in public places.

The Elon University Model United Nations Society participated over the weekend in a crisis simulation organized by the Princeton University International Relations Club.