Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign took a hard hit this week, following the release of a video in which Romney made some controversial comments.

The video, which was initially obtained by the liberal website Mother Jones, shows Governor Romney speaking at a private fundraising event back on May 17.  While discussing his plan to win the election, he had the following to say about those voters who will vote for President Obama:

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what.  These are people who pay no income tax.”

Those comments set off a firestorm in the media, drawing mixed reaction from both democrats and republicans.  It may be too soon to tell what repercussions it may have on his campaign, but early indications are negative.

In a recent Reuters poll, 43 percent of registered voters thought less of Romney after seeing the video, while 26 percent viewed him in a more favorable light.

The Romney campaign is firing back, with the candidate himself releasing a statement on his website Thursday.

“My campaign is about the 100 percent in America and I’m concerned about them. I’m concerned about the fact that over the past four years life has become harder for Americans. More people have fallen into poverty; more people we just learned have had to go onto food stamps. When the President took office 32 million were on food stamps, today 47 million people are on food stamps.”

With the votes of young people being at the very heart of this election, we asked several college students what they thought about Romney’s statements.

“As a college student receiving a Stafford loan to alleviate the cost of my education, I am disgusted by the notion that Governor Romney seems to think that I believe that I’m entitle to something,” said Alyssa Knierim, a junior at Point Park University.

Knierim is a Democrat, who is also an active volunteer with the Obama campaign.

“I pay my taxes,” she added. “I work my behind off to do what I can.  I take plenty of responsibility.  God forbid that I accept help so that it’s easier for me to help myself.”

Democratic students aren’t the only ones who are upset over it.  Aaron Krueger, a junior at the University of Dayton, is a Republican who was upset by the statements.

“I was definitely surprised that he said all of that, and I feel like he should care about the other 47 percent and work to change their views,” Krueger explained.

He also brought up a point that most Republican commentators are trying to drive home.

“I feel like both sides make statements like that when they are behind closed doors and feel they are in private,” Krueger said.  “He just got caught on camera.”

Although this seems to be a major setback for the Romney campaign, they say they are looking forward to discussing key issues in the upcoming presidential debates.

The first of three debates is set to take place on Oct. 3 at the University of Denver.