Angst on the left, smiles on the right

While watching President Bush's State of the Union address, the Penn Democrats played "Bush Lingo Bingo," while College Republicans members dressed in suits and greeted their own attendees more formally.

Both campus groups met to watch the president's annual address last night -- the Penn College Democrats in Huntsman Hall and the College Republicans in Houston Hall.

Bush's speech covered issues such as education, oil dependency, the economy and foreign policy -- especially relating to the conflict in Iraq.

Responses to Bush's agenda reflected the political divide. College Republicans Vice Chairman Sean-Tamba Matthew said that he appreciates that the president "hasn't given into public pressure."

College junior Famid Sinha, who attended the Penn Democrats event, however, said he was amazed at the "success of this administration in being able to silence its critics."

The speech itself was the focus of the College Republicans event.

The Democrats, however, complemented the address with "Bush Lingo Bingo," a game in which attendees marked off a square any time Bush used certain predicted terms such as God, evildoer, tax burden, New Orleans, terror, Iraq and anything that attendees believed wasn't actually a word.

Following the President's speech, the Democrats had a conference call with Iraq war veteran Patrick Murphy, who is running for Congress in 2006 as a Democrat.

"I don't believe in this administration; that's why I am doing what I'm doing," Murphy said.

He added that he believes the President has had five years to improve education but "continues to contradict himself," especially by making a budget cut that Murphy feels interferes with students' ability to afford college.

He added that college students should give back to their communities and country through organizations such as the Peace Corps and Teach for America.

Both groups had an attendance of between 40 and 50, and officers in both were happy with the turnout. Penn Democrats President Nathan Hake said he was satisfied with "the ... excitement people are willing to give [the address] during prime study hours."

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