If it were solely up to the Vanderbilt Board of Trust to elect the United States' next president, the country might be welcoming Republican Mitt Romney to the White House on Jan. 20, according to public records of campaign donations over $200.

Sixty percent of board members who financially supported John McCain's campaign had originally donated to the Romney campaign during the presidential primaries.

Twenty-seven percent of trustees have directly donated to the McCain campaign over the past two years, compared to the only 20 percent donating to Barack Obama's campaign. The remaining 53 percent have not donated to either campaign.

Although the Board of Trust may seem to lean slightly to the right, only 33 percent of the potential McCain voters have supported him from the beginning, compared to the 73 percent of probable Obama voters who have supported him from the launch of his campaign.

Sheryll Cashin, chair of the Academics Program Committee and professor of law at Georgetown University, has donated consistently to the Obama campaign since its conception, and donated a total of $3300. On the other side of the aisle, Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee and former Chairman of Dollar General Cal Turner has consistently donated to the McCain campaign, donating a total of $2300 thus far.

BY RUTH KINSEY