Preeminent pollster John Zogby has a good feeling about Generation Z.
“I’m going to call you ‘Generation Zogby’,” he joked before getting serious in his praise.
“Your generation confronts problems and solves them. You focus on consensus building and creating equitable solutions.”
John Zogby
Zogby, a Utica native, founder of the Zogby Poll and Zogby International and the author of Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read the Polls and Why We Should, gave the annual Constitution Day Address, “The 2024 Election: What Are the Polls Really Saying?”
He advised voters to look past the flashy headlines and daily data updates. “I don’t predict,” he said. “I suggest. I hint. I look at the trends and see where they’re headed.”
“It was so informative to learn how polls work,” said Allison Neelands ’27, a political science major with a minor in legal studies. “It’s interesting how in-depth the facts can go if you have a poll with 1,000 people compared to a poll with 10,000 people.”
Zogby gave an example from polling for NBC during the 2000 race between George W. Bush (R) and Al Gore (D). “We were at equilibrium right up until Election Day,” he said. “One of the questions I asked was, ‘If you were electing the Mayor of Oz, would you vote for the Tin Man, who has all brains, but no heart, or the Scarecrow, who is all heart but no brains?”
The results? 46.2 percent for the Tin Man, 42.6 for the Scarecrow. “I called Tim Russert (then the host of Meet the Press) and said, “I have no idea what’s going to happen.”
Gen Z, he said, could swing the outcome of the election – provided they show up on election day.
“We have a lot of power if people get out there and vote,” said Morgan Nichols ’26, a history and political science double major with a legal studies minor. “And Hartwick has been so good about encouraging voters, like voter registration outside the Commons and rides to the polls.”
For some, it’s the first time they’re getting a chance to cast their ballot. “I’m really excited,” said Lennon Bailey ’28, a double major in English and environment, sustainability and society. “It’s really important to vote, not something you can sit out on, not just as a woman, but as a citizen.”
Bailey is also taking Professor Laurel Elder’s Political Science 310: The 2024 Elections class. “Because it’s my first time voting, I wanted to educate myself on the issues and candidates, and to get all the information I could.”
The Constitution Day event was sponsored by The Hartwick Institute of Public Service, the Office of Civic Engagement, TedX Oneonta and the Upstate Leadership Conference.
The DEIB Strategic Plan sets actionable goals and metrics for the College to measure achievements and honors the work already happening at Hartwick.
Hundreds of alums, friends, family and members of the Hartwick community gathered Sept. 20- 22 for the annual True Blue celebration.