Recently, I spotted a tabloid magazine with a huge picture of George W. Bush and the headline: "Too Drunk to Fly." Initially I laughed, but I had at least researched enough about Bush before allowing "The Globe" to influence my opinion of him.

However, many people will look at that picture and faintly recall that they once heard from somebody who talked to their neighbor who saw on the news that the anchor said a newspaper reporter wrote that Bush might have allegedly dabbled in drugs.

To this person, that headline might be enough for him to dismiss Bush as a drug addict unfit for the Oval Office. However, even if Bush might have been heavily involved in drug use, "The Globe" has never been one to understate a news story and it is doubtful that during the middle of the campaign Bush's staff would permit him to be visibly drunk before the media.

There are similar situations with Gore as well. Sadly, people form opinions about the candidates on small bits of news like this. Even worse, only a small percentage of people know anything about candidates outside of the Democratic and Republican parties. There are still people who can't identify Ralph Nader or Pat Buchanan, although Buchanan once had notoriety among Republicans.

For the above reasons, it is key to be informed on the issues and the candidates. If one says that Gore is lackluster, they need justification as to why this indicates poor leadership skills.

If one believes that Bush is unintelligent, it is necessary to be able to point out examples of how he is uninformed on issues and the relevant people involved in the issues. If one thinks Nader doesn't know about issues outside of the environment and campaign finance corruption, it would be a more effective statement if that person knew enough about Nader to make it.

Many politically minded students have very strong opinions, but our parents heavily influence them and although for a point in our lives we may stagger from their guidance, we usually fly back to the ideological nest they have prepared for us. Topping that with the fact that we have consistently shown ourselves to be the least likely age group to vote, politicians don't feel compelled to appeal strongly to us.

There are people who are still basing their political views on one issue or one characteristic about a candidate they don't like.

The reality is the president is on duty from his inauguration until that of the next president's. He will address more than one issue over four or eight years, provided that he completes his term, and it is important to make sure that we inform ourselves on as much as we can before we vote.

However, if you've looked at everything else and considered the information and still feel like it all comes down to the issue or the characteristic, you can base your decision on that if you want. As long as your decision is well-informed then you should celebrate, complain, cry or do whatever your heart dictates within reason after the election results. At least you can do this without saying a tabloid magazine dictated your actions.

• Be an informed voter