By Audrey Sullivan

So here we are, just five days out from the election.  I’m sure many of you will agree with me when I say that I completely sympathize with the four-year-old girl in the YouTube video crying about how she is sick of hearing about “Bronco Bamma” and Mitt Romney.  While the election will indeed be over soon, the repercussions of our decisions next Tuesday will directly impact us for four years, and indirectly for quite some time after that. That being said, yes, I am still undecided and yes, I am starting to panic.

Early voting started here in North Carolina, as it did in many other states, last week. Friends committed in their decisions have been heading off to the polls after class for the last few days. The “I voted early!” stickers they stamp on their sweaters and backpacks are constant reminders that I haven’t.

As for the flyers, they have remained as pervasive as ever. When I opened the door for trick-or-treaters last night, I was half expecting little kids in Batman costumes to hand me political literature as I handed them Snickers. Interestingly, although North Carolina is expected to go to Romney at this point, the majority of this week’s pamphlets star beaming photos of our President and his wife, reminding us to get to the polls early and vote (for him, of course).

The canvassing has also been increasing at an impossible rate. I’m not sure where the candidates have found these people willing to knock on college student’s doors at 9 am on a Sunday, because it is a truly thankless job. My roommates and I have stopped answering the door unless we are expecting company, or have ordered pizza within the past hour. Mostly due to the frequency of the latter, I have had to engage in a few conversations with canvassers, most of which are reminding me to (once again), go vote early.

My university has an interesting political dynamic. The professors are for the most part extremely liberal, while the student body and alumni are much more conservative. Professors generally try to hide their affiliation, but the information we receive as fact and the readings we are assigned are often biased. Students make no such effort. After a tailgate last week I had to peel about five “Deacons for Romney” stickers off of my back, and remove the Romney-Ryan 2012 button that had been given to me by Senator Richard Burr from my purse. While I am proud of my friends for making their decisions, I hope they respect me in whatever choice I make in the end.

A few recent events have had some weight on my decision, the largest being Hurricane Sandy. Being from the Northeast myself and having many friends from the tri-state area, I felt this storm was handled very well. It also brought up the issue of climate change in a big way for the first time this election, and it has been interesting to see what both camps have said on the issue. In the next few days I will look more closely at issues such as Supreme Court appointments, economic plans, and the ever-elusive social issues. In the end, it may come down to just going with my gut. While that may not be the most scientific way of going about things, I can hardly call myself an uninformed voter, and I think somewhere down deep I really do know who I will choose.  There are just five days until we all have to make our decisions, and five days until we can get our pizza in peace.