By April Warren

As the Stony Brook campus student body twisted and turned through the same voting lines to cast their ballots, many students also voted for the same presidential candidate.

According to a Stony Brook University exit poll survey, 84 percent of the 340 students polled voted for Sen. Barack Obama compared with the 11 percent that voted for Sen. John McCain.

"McCain is a lot for business," said Kaitlynn Paduano, 19, a marine biology major. "Obama cares more about what the future's going to hold." According to Paduano, education and support for the youth were the deciding factors behind her vote for Obama.

With the growing financial crisis emanating from Wall Street, the most important issue among students was the economy.

"The economy is kinda shaky right now," Yan Wu, 22, a biochemistry major, who lives in a single-family household. "The democrats should have a shot at it because the republicans didn't handle it that well."

Other students agree that although the economy is the most important issue, Obama will not be able to help.

"Voting for Obama will cost us a lot of money," said James Weider, 19, a political science major. "I'm putting my pocketbook first."

Weider voted for McCain. "He's very realistic. His age and experience makes him better suited for the position than Obama. He has the wisdom and the ability to use political foresight."