Lack of knowledge about the nominee, abortion issues and extreme conservatism are among the concerns surrounding Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Alito was nominated Monday morning to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

A 1975 Yale alumnus, Alito has served as deputy assistant to the U.S. attorney general and U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. He now sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, based in Philadelphia.

“I wasn’t quite sure who he was,” said Nicole Woodroffe, president of the ISU College Republicans and senior in political science. “I’d heard of other judges that could be nominated, but Alito never came up.”

Drew Larson, president of the ISU Democrats and senior in accounting, said Alito’s name was mentioned in discussions, but he too was unfamiliar with Alito.

Many ISU students share Woodroffe and Larson’s puzzlement as to who the nominee is.

“My first impression was, ‘Who is Samuel Alito?’ Then my second one was, ‘Yikes, the conservatives sound really excited,'” said Nathan Fitzgerald, senior in mechanical engineering.

Alito’s stance on abortion has become a hot topic.

“I was pleased with the nomination. Alito has a good record on the pro-life issue,” said Josh Opheim, treasurer for ISU Students for Life and senior in civil engineering.

Dan Rajewski, president of the group, said he agreed.

“It’s very promising in terms of future politics that will give greater respect to human life,” said Rajewski, graduate student in geological and atmospheric sciences.

Opheim said his ideal nominee would respect life and interprets the Constitution, rather than legislates from the bench. He said Alito meets all the criteria.

“From what I’ve read, [Supreme Court Justice Antonin] Scalia has influenced him,” Opheim said. “I’m very optimistic about him, and I think he’s a good candidate overall.”

Planned Parenthood, an organization that supports abortion rights, opposes the nomination, said Kathi Di Nicola, director of marketing and communication for the Iowa chapter of the organization.

“Planned Parenthood is opposing Alito’s nomination simply because he has a long judicial record of hostility toward women’s rights,” she said.

Di Nicola said her organization would be working to see that Alito is not confirmed.

“This is not the right candidate,” she said.

Another concern among students is how conservative Alito is.

“President Bush has chosen to placate the extreme right with this nomination,” Larson said.

The president’s nomination ignored pleas of Senate Democrats to find a common ground, Larson said.

Woodroffe said she disagreed.

“I wouldn’t say that he’s too conservative,” she said. “This nomination has the liberals up in arms rather than [Bush’s] friends, like he did with the Miers nomination.”

Erica Carnes, senior in political science, said she worried Alito wouldn’t be representative of the entire American public.

“I guess I’m not going to be happy with anyone [Bush] would nominate,” she said.