The Supreme Court ruled President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act constitutional Wednesday.

The swing-vote ruling broke through bipartisan barriers when Chief Justice John Roberts, a typically conservative jurist, decided to uphold Obama’s health care law.

“I think this is a clear win for President Obama, and it’s going to give insurance to a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t have it,” said Christopher Banks, associate professor of political science at Kent State. “The biggest effect is that it’s going to be ammunition for the Republican Party to use in arguments against President Obama, and they will use it to try to get him out of office.”

Banks said he believes college students would generally benefit from the bill if they are covered by their parents’ insurance.

“Being covered by their parents’ insurance until age 26 will help many college students,” Banks said. “No [exemptions for] preexisting conditions will also be a good thing.”

Michael Bice, professor of library and information science, said he believes most students will have a positive response to the bill.

“I think most college students would see the bill as a positive goal for the country, and it would be positively received,” Bice said. “The health care debate is simply philosophical; if you support universal coverage, you probably think it’s a good idea, and if you don’t, you disagree with it.”

“Some people want to reserve the right not to buy coverage,” Bice said. “Unlike other legislations that are targeted to one subset of the general population, this piece of legislation will affect everyone in the country.”

Contact Drew Parker at [email protected].