If the general election were held now at Northampton Community College, who would be elected president? Inquiring minds from NCC's Political Science Club wanted to know, and so they polled faculty, staff and students on March 3 and 4.

Of the 126 people who cast ballots at the club's "Election '08 Extravanganza," the votes were as follows:

59 - Barack Obama
21 - Hillary Clinton
18 - John McCain
12 - Ron Paul
 9 - Mike Huckabee
 1 - Mike Gravel
 6 - Write-Ins (1 Al Gore, 1 Mitt Romney, 1 John Edwards, 1 Fred Thomson, and a couple of private individuals)

"The sample was small and not very representative, so we have to take the results with a large grain of salt," says Dr. Vasiliki Anastasakos, the club advisor. "Having said that, I think the results reflect the general appeal of Senator Obama, especially among young college students. That has been the case nationwide."

The assistant professor of political science says the club's main goal was "to generate interest among NCC students regarding the upcoming Pennsylvania primary and to motivate them to find out more about the candidates and the issues, rather than following the 'horse race' on TV."