She’s not a tree-hugger or a hippie, but she hasn’t voted for any party other than the Green party.

“I’ve been called a tree-hugger more times than I can imagine,” said Suzanna Rudz, a fourth-year arts and contemporary studies student at Ryerson.

“When people say stuff like that, it reflects poorly on them,” she said. “It’s not a very intelligent thing to say.”

Rudz is one of a handful of Ryerson students who believe strongly in politics. Ryerson’s campus is home to four major political clubs, the Ryerson Young Liberals, the Ryerson Greens, the Campus Conservatives and the Young New Democratic Party. For some members, it’s difficult to get outsiders to see past their political affiliations.

“It can get exhausting explaining to people that it is a real party, it does have real followers, and it focuses on issues that extend far beyond the environment,” she said. 

Rudz’s support for the Green party of Canada started even before she was old enough to vote.

“They just represent common sense,” she said. “When I read through the platform, it’s like a checklist. I’m like this makes sense, this makes sense . . .”

Rudz, 21, considers voting very personal and important, but some of her friends and classmates say that a vote for the Green party is a vote in the trash bin.  

“I’ve had friends who thought the Green party was the Marijuana party . . . and people think environmental issues are the only issues. There’s a lot more to it than that.”

Despite her strong views, Rudz doesn’t consider herself very political.

“I wouldn’t want to ever pursue (politics) as a career,” she said. “I find it complicated . . .  but voting is a privilege and a right. Even if you make the choice not to vote, you should be informed about why you’re making that choice.”

For Anthony Barone, making the choice on Oct. 14 is easy.

He says the Liberals are in “Disneyland.”

“Their policies just don’t make sense,” he said. “I don’t know where they get their stuff, but they’re just trying to feed Canadians garbage.”

The 21-year-old urban planning student is a proud supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada, and is politically active in his hometown of Woodbridge in Vaughan, Ont.

“I’ve had a surprisingly good response (canvassing),” he said.

“I thought I would get a lot of opposition, because Vaughan has traditionally voted Liberal in every single election.”

Along with his brother and a few friends, Barone hit the streets of Woodbridge, giving people lawn signs and generating support for the local Conservative candidate, Richard Lorello.

“We all support the Conservative party because all the other parties are a flying joke,” he said.

“The other day I visited about 30 houses . . . 21 of them said they were Conservative . . . though they don’t want lawn signs,” he said.

“Maybe it’s taboo to be Conservative in this town. The NDP (supporters) will be like, ‘Hey you’ve got the wrong house, buddy. This is an NDP house.’ It’s pretty funny.”

Barone is in his fifth year at Ryerson. He tries to stay away from class debates because people tend to overreact to his comments.

“One time I said that Native Americans refuse to progress and it was huge, I couldn’t believe the reaction,” he said. “I didn’t think it was that bad a comment. People just went crazy.”

Barone said people just don’t appreciate facts and common sense.

“They’re really unhappy to hear it because they’re living in their little bubble.”

William Molls, who is a member of Ryerson’s Young New Democratic Party, said he’s sick and tired of the political patterns in Canada.

“I’m just fed up with this basic two-party system . . . where the Liberals and Conservatives basically trade power every few years,” he said.

Molls is a third-year radio and television arts student at Ryerson, and is a strong supporter of the New Democratic Party of Canada.

“The other parties support the big guy – the corporations,” he said. “The NDP supports the working class.”

The 20-year-old said he wants change, and that Jack Layton and the NDP can bring just that.

“The NDP represents a change from the status quo . . . which right now seems to be . . . giving money to big corporations who don’t need it.”

Molls first became interested in politics in high school. He was quickly drawn to the NDP.

“They just reflected everything I agreed with,” he said.

“That was where my opinions were, politically.”

Class discussions are sometimes difficult, he said, because people are often quick to make assumptions.

“It’s frustrating . . . because I make it so clear that I’m voting NDP . . .   people are almost dismissive of it,” he said.

“They’re dismissive of my opinion and they think, ‘Well he’s just spewing the party (platform)’ . . . but they’re my own opinions.”

Molls said he does his best to try to relate everyday conversations to politics, since it affects so many facets of daily life.

“If the subway runs on time . . .  how much we pay for tuition . . . how clean the environment is . . . politics affects every aspect of our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not.”

Politics also affects Bryan Frois, a proud Liberal supporter.

He says Stephen Harper is a “douche-bag.”

“I’m really fearful of a majority government under Harper,” he said.

“(If) he gets a majority, he’s allowed to do whatever he wants . . . we don’t know what he has planned for us.”

The third-year radio and television arts student started becoming involved in Canadian politics in elementary school.

"In Grade 5 I did projects on (Pierre Elliott) Trudeau . . . someone I consider to be one of my heroes. I quickly became interested in the whole idea of politics.”

Frois, 20, said he’s very open about his political beliefs, and he’s not easily offended. Politics is different for everyone.

“Politics is being active in what you believe in,” he said.

“Sometimes (politics) can be nasty and dirty, but it’s for the good of the public.”

Frois agrees with Stéphane Dion’s Green Shift plan.

“I think it’s smart,” he said. “There are countries in Europe that have (implemented) green policies and they’ve been successful.”

On his own time, Frois tries to be as environmentally conscious as he can.

“(Environmental issues) have really changed mine and my family’s ways of living,” he said.

From using his car less and taking public transit, to recycling and composting, he said little changes can make a big difference.