Political and activist groups at Binghamton University worked to get students involved in the political arena in preparation for yesterday’s election, but in somewhat untraditional ways.

Students have a history of being unreliable voters, and specific organizations on campus such as the College Libertarians, have tried to change that, according to a member from the group.

According to the preamble of its constitution, College Libertarians, a non-partisan political group, aims to “diversify the current political circumstance in our nation,” as well as to provide a space for libertarians at BU to deliberate over different ideas.

President of the College Libertarians Randal Meyer said members had been all around campus informing students about all of the candidates, not just the well-known ones like Barack Obama and John McCain.

Although College Libertarians do not endorse candidates as part of their policy, their efforts are steered at educating students about their multiple options when it comes to candidate selection, he said.

Meyer has been advising students to become informed and learn as much as possible before voting for a candidate.

“Look at candidates’ platforms and then base your decision on what is right for America’s future,” Meyer, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, and economics, said.

The Experimental Media Organization, which identifies the Student Action Collection as its political-action committee, is another politically active group on campus. According to one student, EMO/SAC has not endorsed a political candidate for this election, but members do talk in depth about candidates and their motives, as well as how they may affect the country.

“If you ask anyone in the group, I don’t know if you would ever get a one-word answer about our political views,” said Stephen Cormier, a senior majoring in sociology and a member of EMO/SAC.

“Our views on the electoral system are never simple,” Cormier added.

According to Cormier, EMO/SAC is a collective group that is based on consensus, but there is a wide range of opinions. Generally, the group tries to achieve change outside the realm of party politics.

The Women’s Student Union has also been involved in informing their members, who recently attended the Graduate Student Organization’s panel on women and voting, about the politics of the election.

Kathleen Cisek, a senior majoring in English and a member of the WSU, explained that everyone in the group has very different politics and not all of them are voting for the same candidate. They have been active as a group, but have not been participating in any specific get-out-the-vote tactics, she said.

“We made a point of not specifically endorsing any candidate or any specific party because we want women to make the choice on their own and we want to let everyone know that they are welcome in our organization regardless of their politics,” Cisek said.

Although she could not speak for her entire group, Cisek stated that while her own personal belief is that voting gives away individual power, but that people should do what the believe in and make their own decisions, especially if that includes voting.