With the upcoming presidential election, celebrities have been trying to promote the person they feel will do the best job for this country. The decision may be hard for some, but for others, it is simple. For Stephan Jenkins the lead singer of Third Eye Blind, the right decision for him is Barack Obama. Jenkins expressed, in an interview with The Quad, that after seeing a president [George W. Bush] that disdains intelligence, the country needs someone like Obama.
“I feel there is a unique call for him,” Jenkins said. “He was like the students of colleges today. He had college loans. He has an identity that is the United States.”
According to Jenkins, this upcoming presidential election is the “movement about us.” He feels that this is an inspiring moment in history.
“Students of Pennsylvania have an incredible moment,” Jenkins said. “They have the opportunity to speak to the presidential candidates and have the chance to make a difference.”
While most people are concerned with the issue of health care and where the candidates stand on this topic, Jenkins believes that character is the most important issue. The issues change and surprises come up, such as Hurricane Katrina. Jenkins said that Katrina showed how Bush is a “shallow, divisive, unreflective person.”
“Obama can give a unique contribution,” Jenkins said. “He was a constitutional law professor, who we need right now. He is against the war, instead of the ‘going with the flow’ attitude on the war on terror. He has the judgment and calm needed to carry us out of Iraq. We have not seen someone like that since Abraham Lincoln.”
Along those lines, Jenkins also stated that most people who disagree tend to always be at each other’s throats, but that “Obama sees the people who don’t agree with him and his views and tries to find the common ground between them.”
The reason Jenkins votes, he said, is because he wants to be proud of his country. He said that he is not proud of our country with the way the Bush administration has been running it. He believes that everyone should want to vote to be proud of their nation.
Jenkins, along with the other members of Third Eye Blind, will be performing at West Chester University on Thursday, April 17 at 8 p.m. to a sold-out crowd in Hollinger Field House. Students can expect to hear either side A or B of their upcoming new album, along with old favorites. The name of the CD has yet to be determined.
“This record will be different from our other albums,” Jenkins said. “This will be openly political lyrically. The music is more about infusing politics of life.”
Third Eye Blind has been together for roughly 15 years. Jenkins said that the first five years of their relationship was about the struggle to get their music out. The next five years, their music took off and they were “rushing around the world.”
“What has kept us running for so long is the resurgence of fans,” Jenkins said. “We are the most requested band by colleges in the United States. Students have found us through friends and the web and have made us apart of their lives. Because of this energy, we were able to make a new album.”
Amanda Tingle is a third-year student majoring in secondary English education with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at AT610629@wcupa.edu.