The Farm Team

http://shannonvalentine.net

With as many as 3,200 Liberty University students eligible to vote in Tuesday’s election, the school has turned into a battleground for local politics.

To encourage a strong turnout on Election Day, the university canceled classes and announced plans to run buses to the polls.

Meanwhile, the election is unfolding across campus, from dorm-room debates to a 10-page election special in the student newspaper.

Friday morning, Republican Scott Garrett manned the main entrance to the Vines Center as thousands of students flooded past for convocation — a required event for all on-campus undergraduates. Garrett, who is challenging Del. Shannon Valentine in Lynchburg’s House of Delegates race, shook hands with students and encouraged them to vote.

A few feet away, members from the College Democrats and College Republican clubs distributed hundreds of pieces of campaign literature for Valentine and Garrett, respecti