Depolitics '08

Election’s Entrepreneurs: Working for ‘Change’

2008-10-16T14:58:00.002-05:00

By Ruth Kim, Staff Reporter

(Published Oct. 10 in Yale Daily News)

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama was the muse behind Obama Girl, who continues to sing about her crush on youtube.com. He is red, white and blue in artist Shepard Fairey’s poster that now overlooks York Street through a window of the Yale Art and Architecture building. A few blocks away, his face appears on graphic T-shirts announcing “Progress” and “Obama For Yo’ Mama,” at the markedly left-leaning Urban Outfitters.

From community service to artistic design, excitement for this year’s elections has triggered a spirit of entrepreneurship in many college students, too. Elis and their peers at other schools have tapped into this innovative spirit, using Obama as an inspiration for community service — and as a marketing technique to help them win money from fellow students, regardless of the entrepreneurs’ ideological leanings.

Starting up the Obama business

Ben Silbermann ’03 said he was never politically active as an undergraduate. But a couple of months ago, Silbermann caught Obama fever, working with his friends Sean Farrell ’03 and Chris Hinkle to create a Facebook application called Faces of Change.

The online art installation is a virtual mural of Obama’s face, composed of tiny, mosaic headshots of group members. Users’ comments or reasons for supporting Obama are revealed when a cursor moves to an individual box. Although Silbermann said he created the application “out of fun,” he said it can provide voters with a space to share their support for Obama.

Silbermann is not the only one to take advantage of Obama’s candidacy to explore new ways to reach the electorate.

A team of six undergraduates and recent graduates at Stanford University started Travel For Change, where supporters can sponsor volunteers who wish to travel to swing states with frequent-flyer miles.

Stanfordian Mesa Schumacher, a senior, said her college roommate Alisa Whitfield conceived the idea after working on Obama’s campaign.

“We fill that special niche where we can make a significant impact,” Schumacher said.

David Manners-Weber ’10 and Justin Kosslyn ’09 also began working for the Obama campaign as volunteers in New Hampshire. Manners-Weber said his job as a canvasser led him to think about how he could alternatively engage citizens who might be unreceptive to door-to-door campaigners, which gave birth to the idea for a national organization called Obama Works. The grassroots group attempts to garner support for Obama by encouraging public service that embodies the candidate’s message of change.

“Obama encouraged citizens to think of creative ways to work for change in this country,” Manners-Weber said.

He said the opportunity was a perfect way to combine his interests in politics and community service.

In a guest column for the Yale Daily News last January, Manners-Weber and Kosslyn proposed a rethinking of on-the-ground volunteer campaign strategy to include “visible public service projects.”

The proposal set off a firestorm of support, Manners-Weber said. He and Kosslyn worked with other interested supporters to implement the Illinois senator’s message of change through food drives, Habitat for Humanity initiatives and neighborhood cleanups.

“I could never have run Obama Works if I was the one motivating folks all the time and manufacturing support,” Manners-Weber said. “Obama Works is about the power of an idea.”

And Kosslyn and Manners-Weber are not the only students who have been inspired by Obama’s campaign.

Will Ruben, a junior at Harvard, said he conceived of VoteGopher.com, a comprehensive, non-partisan Election 2008 study guide, in his dorm room.

Exactly one year ago this coming weekend, VoteGopher.com founder and CEO Ruben launched the Web site after becoming frustrated by the lack of a centralized body of information on the presidential primaries.

“I thought this was a void that would be an interesting challenge to fill,” he said.

The site has been lauded as “unusually extensive” by The New York Times and described as “more comprehensive and lively than anything I’ve seen out there” by The Washington Post.

And the students said their initiatives will not end with the Nov. 4 election.

Reuben said his team of fellow Cantabs will launch NewsGopher early next week, which will offer more general political videos and news.

Likewise, Manners-Weber said Obama Works will evolve into a “pledge feature,” where people can donate hours rather than dollars to better the community even after elections — under the Obama administration, he hopes.

And with his own valuable exposure to both political and social work, Manners-Weber said he now hopes to take on local challenges in New Haven, such as cleanup in the Newhallville neighborhood planned for Oct. 18.

Calling for change, and capitalizing on it, too

Some young voters refuse to sit out of this year’s election — especially when jumping on the Obama bandwagon can turn a profit.

Business partners Rich Littlehale ’10 and Bob Casey ’10 launched their Cell Phones for Obama initiative last Wednesday. They plan to collect used cell phones and donate 70 percent of their proceeds to the Democratic campaign.

In an effort to promote their larger startup business TwigTek under the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, CEO Littlehale and CFO Casey are tapping into a mainstream audience by linking their business to Obama.

“It’s a great marketing ploy,” Casey said.

Casey said Cell Phones for Obama is the one impulsive and “cool” ploy among the several launched under Twigtek, a green company providing management solutions to create revenue for organizations looking to save money. Their more long-term and consistent projects drive collection across the United States by encouraging people to donate their handheld electronics to charities such as United Way.

“We saw this as a great way to do something out of the ordinary for donation,” he said.

The idea to collect electronic devices for recycling came long before the idea for Cell Phones for Obama. Over the summer, Casey said he visited a Green Festival in his hometown of Chicago, where he noticed many corporations recycling an array of objects ranging from textbooks to shoes — but not electronic devices.

Casey said he and Littlehale struggled with finding a way to persuade people to recycle electronics.

“It’s a problem of incentives,” he said. “People aren’t lazy, but they won’t seek out incentives unless it’s given to them.”

A fellow student suggested that the entrepreneurs start a Web site that could provide the necessary encouragement — cell phones for T-shirts or another gift. Casey and Littlehale went one step further to launch Cell Phones for Obama.

“We’re Obama fans,” Littlehale said. “But we’re not intense.” In fact, he admitted, he was a Republican until this year. Casey said his father has voted Republican since President Ronald Reagan.

Casey said the Cell Phones for Change Web site was launched just three days after the initial idea was proposed.

“Obama was a really easy way to get started on the Web,” he said.

While Casey admitted the initiative was not the best business decision, given the pressure it placed on time and other resources, he said like other start-up founders, he and Littlehale hope to learn from the mistakes they make.

And the response so far — estimated at roughly over $100 worth of cell phone donations — demonstrates that the model works, Littlehale said, particularly since the phones they have received since this Monday’s mailing are high-quality phones that can be recycled and sold in a secondary market.

Regardless of the political implications, STEP member Steven Winter ’11 said the entrepreneurs are doing good for the environment.

“This initiative is better than just dumping phones in our universal bins,” he said.

And of course, Casey said, he and Littlehale hope Obama will win the election.

How NIU Handles Campus Politicking

2008-10-16T14:57:00.000-05:00

(Published Oct. 13 in Northern Illinois University’s Northern Star)

By Giles Bruce

“Vote for [insert your preferred candidate here].”

If you hear this being chanted at NIU, you are likely next to a free speech area, according to Angela Dreessen, director of Student Involvement and Leadership Development.

At these designated spots on campus where individuals or groups can make their voices heard by passing out leaflets or holding events, political-themed activities can take place just the same as non-political ones, she said. You just have to call SILD ahead of time if you will be at one of the areas: the MLK Mall Area or next to the Convocation Center. But you probably won’t see an NIU employee doing the aforementioned chanting.

Recent incidents at the University of Illinois and University of Texas, and the fact that the election is only weeks away, have brought the issue of political activity on college campuses into the spotlight.

“Political activity in relation to employment or the use of university resources is strictly prohibited under several statutes and regulations,” said Steven Cunningham, associate vice president of Administration and Human Resources. “NIU relies on employees to utilize good judgment and tact. The university has experienced few problems in this regard.”

As for political activity in the residence halls, given that students participating in the activity are not employed by NIU, Michael Stang, executive director of Housing and Dining, said the rules are outlined in the Housing and Dining Guide Post.

Door-to-door campaigning in residence halls, among other rules, must take place during the 20 days before an election or registration deadline, and the canvassers can’t solicit contributions.

To post objects, including political signage, on dormitory walls, the rules for putting up any other materials must be followed. Windows are another story.

Residence hall windows are considered university property and thus a representation of NIU, so objects displayed on them may be subject to review. If deemed inappropriate, residents may be required to remove the displays according to the Housing and Dining Guide Post.

With regard to political activity in the private sector, including private universities, the rules are definitely not black and white, said Associate Management professor Terrence Bishop.

It is hard to fire workers because of political activity since the many barriers and public policies in place would prevent it, Bishop said, unless of course the employees do “extreme” things such as waste time on-the-clock to campaign on company premises. Got it?

“There are so many grey areas,” Bishop said. “It’s part of what makes life interesting.”

Debating the VP Debate in Chicago

2008-10-16T14:56:00.000-05:00

By Craig Kanalley

For Depolitics08

Just how important was the vice presidential debate?

That was a debate in itself, as a watch party at the Chicago History Museum mulled over the question both before and after the event.

"It's not clear what this debate or any (VP) debate does," said Susan Gluck Mezey, political science professor at Loyola University. "To some extent, it's good theatre, but it doesn't have any effect on politics."

Greg Hinz, political columnist and reporter for Crain's Chicago Business, offered a different perspective.

"For the candidates, this is a strategic moment," Hinz said. "Normally, VP debates don't make a hills worth of difference. This one has an uncommon significance, due to where it occurs in this election campaign."

Laura S. Washington, professor at DePaul University and contributing columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times, wouldn't go one way or the other, but she made one thing clear.

"This debate is already historic, just the amount of attention it's gotten," she said just before it began.

Mezey and Hinz did agree that both candidates had some important objectives going into the debate. Some who attended the watch party gave their thoughts afterward on how the two sides fared.

Hinz said the goal for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was to deliver a good performance, following her error-filled interviews with Katie Couric in recent days.

"I think that's raised the profile of this debate," he said. "She has to avoid serious gaffes and give a positive impression."

To that point, Obama supporter Jan Huttner, 56, said she was afraid Palin succeeded.

"I was really hoping she'd get KO'ed - she didn't," said Huttner, of Dearborn Park. "She was confident, she was feisty, and that's bad news for our team."

Hinz believed that Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, known for going over the edge at times, also had a clear mission.

"Joe Biden has to dial down his points and not be Joe Biden," he said.

Susan Dvora, 70, said she believed Biden did just that.

"He was strong, yet he came back at her in a dignified way," said Dvora, of the South Loop.

Overall, Mezey said the pressure was all on Palin and she "just has to appear not as bad as everyone thinks she is."

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll said she succeeded on that end, with 84 percent of viewers saying she exceeded expectations.

But the poll also found that 51 percent of debate watchers thought Biden won the debate, while 36 percent said Palin was the winner.

"Biden won...he showed that he and Obama have a very good road for our country to follow if elected," said Francisco Aguilar, 71, of North Center. "I actually felt a little sorry for her. They should have let her go home, she was out of her league."

Not all were so kind.

"Her smile scares me, her wink scares me, her energy policy scares me, her foreign policy scares me. She scares me," Dvora said.

But again, how important was the debate?

Just after it ended, Barbara Blumenthal, 63, said not so much.

"It came across somewhat how I predicted it would," said Blumenthal, of the South Loop. "It hasn't changed any of my feelings (on the presidential election)."

County Clerk Predicts Record Cook Turnout

2008-10-16T14:55:00.000-05:00

By Daniel J. Biederman Jr.

For Depolitics08

Cook County Clerk David Orr is not one to mince words. “I believe our democracy is severely cracked,” he said, discussing expectations for this year’s elections. “We can’t have a democracy with so many impediments to participation.”

Despite this grim warning, Orr predicted that his domain, suburban Cook County, could see a record 80 percent of registered voters cast a ballot on Nov. 4. If turnout reaches that level, Orr said it would break the previous record of 73 percent, set in 1992.

Orr based his prediction of “good, old-fashioned high turn out” on the fact that voter registration is “clearly up” so far. Regular voter registration closed Oct. 7, and grace period registration and voting ran Oct. 8-21.

Orr also admitted that he has a “gut feeling” that the turnout will be high after seeing an unmatched enthusiasm among college students and other young voters. If a record number of voters come to the polls, it could mean headaches for him and his office, but he trusts the technology being used, including the relatively new “touch screen” voting using computers.

“Some of the biggest problems are not with machines, but with people,” Orr said. “The biggest problem is with human beings making legitimate mistakes.

Although he is optimistic that turnout will be high and the election will run smoothly in his jurisdiction, the Cook County clerk was quick to criticize the electoral process, both past and present, in Illinois and in other states.

Orr slammed the tradition of voting on the first Tuesday in November, saying voting on a weekday is the “stupidest thing you can imagine.” He added that this practice is “only something [America] would do.”

Orr also complained that ballots in Cook County are too long. This year’s ballot will be two double-sided pages. Most voters will have to make selections in nearly 20 contests, from the presidential election to the election for a commissioner’s seat on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. To shrink the ballots, he wants Cook County Circuit Court judges running unopposed for retention to be left off the cards in future elections.

Voting practices in other states also draw the ire of Orr. He called an Indiana law requiring that all voters present state-issued identification a “blatant political trick,” and he said that Florida’s law prohibiting convicted felons from voting was unconstitutional.

Orr, who got his start in politics when he won the aldermanic election for the 49th Ward as a reform candidate in 1979, is well aware of Chicago and Cook County’s infamous reputations as hotbeds of election fraud, saying that he has “seen a lot done a lot and served with a lot of crooks.”

While Orr did admit that there are “a lot of shenanigans in Chicago” when it comes to voting, he said that his office actively works with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney to investigate and prosecute cases of election fraud.

No debating it: ASU just said no

2008-10-16T14:54:00.002-05:00

By: Philip Haldiman, Arizona State Web Devil

(Published October 15, 2008)

As final sound and security checks were made at New York’s Hofstra University in preparation for the third and final presidential debate, Arizona State University’s Gammage Auditorium was set to host a musical production that won’t bring moderator questions, candidate answers or much media chatter.

But four years ago, the Tempe campus was in the national spotlight hosting the final presidential debate between Democrat John Kerry and Republican George W. Bush. This year, ASU is absent from the presidential debate circuit, which University officials say is by choice.

Virgil Renzulli, vice president of public affairs, said ASU originally applied to host a 2008 debate but then withdrew its application.

“The debate was hard to do, and the price went up. It’s a lot of money to raise,” Renzulli said. “It’s quite elaborate. You need good logistical crews. Once you’ve done it, you know how difficult it is.”

Part of the difficulty is securing such a high-profile event, said Jay Spradling, assistant chief of ASU police. Spradling was assistant chief for the Tempe Police Department in 2004. Police departments from ASU, Tempe and Phoenix, as well as the Arizona Department of Public Safety, U.S. Secret Service, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms all had a hand in securing the event, Spradling said.

“A lot of work and money goes into those types of events. They are nice for the University, but they take a lot of planning on a law enforcement level,” Spradling said.

Mike Reichling, fire investigator for the Tempe Fire Department, was commander of the civil support team of the Army National Guard for the event. His team worked with the fire department as a part of the contingency plan for the 2004 debate. He said his team prepped for more than a month and that only Pope John Paul II’s 1987 visit to Phoenix and Tempe required more planning.

“It’s a lot of extra work. The tunnels under ASU had to be swept. We combed every inch of Gammage days prior. It was a lot of man-hours,” Reichling said. “Contingency planning takes a lot of effort. We had to be able to respond to any scenario.”

Dealing with the media was also a huge component of bringing the debate to fruition in 2004, said Terri Cranmer, director of operations for ASU public events. She said the 880-workstation media center was housed on the lawn surrounding Gammage, accommodating about 3,000 members of the media.

“A lot of work went into setting up Gammage to be a TV studio and setting up a media filing center. We double fenced the block that Gammage sits on and housed both campaigns,” Cranmer said.

Renzulli said the media attention the debate brought to ASU was invaluable, especially since universities don’t spend money on advertising like big corporations do. It was probably equivalent to tens of millions of dollars in publicity to the school, he said.

“Try buying a half hour on CNN,” Renzulli said. “Every paper in the country carried stories on us. It was like winning a national football championship.”

Renzulli said the publicity for ASU was not totally without cost; it took about $1.7 million to fund the debate. Much of this was in the form of donations that had to be raised from many sources. Most of the money went toward paying $750,000 to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The Commission’s fee for this year’s vice-presidential debate was $1.35 million, said Rob Wild, assistant to the chancellor at Washington University in St. Louis. The university also hosted debates in 1992, 2000 and 2004. Wild was the steering committee chair for this year’s vice-presidential debate.

Renzulli said the rise in cost was one of reasons ASU decided not to host this year.

Wild also said it was a great experience hosting the second highest rated debate since 1980, garnering 70 million viewers.

“It was great — one of most exciting things I’ve been involved in,” Wild said. “It was the highlight of the year for our community.”

But he wouldn’t speculate about hosting a debate for the 2012 election.

“I’m not sure, but we’re enjoying the afterglow of the event,” Wild said.

Neil Giuliano, the community-relations director for the 2004 ASU debate and former Tempe mayor, said the debate required a lot of work but was a tremendous experience for the University and students at the time. He is now the president of Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

“When a university can host a debate, it shows the university has capacity to do great things,” Giuliano said. “It was an amazing educational experience, especially for those who don’t pay attention to the election process. The campus became a living classroom for more than a week. It’s a great honor to be a part of presidential election history.”

Reach the reporter at philip.haldiman@asu.edu.

The Great Debates

2008-10-16T14:49:00.001-05:00

Energize campuses

by Matthew C. Keegan

For www.saycampuslife.com

(posted Oct. 6, 2008)

The presidential and vice-presidential debates provide an excellent opportunity for America’s colleges and universities to receive a good dose of free publicity leading up to and surrounding the actual debate. Weeks of preparation give way to several hours of intense spotlight, an opportunity for schools to showcase their campuses or at least the meeting hall where the debate is held.

This year, four universities were given the chance to host debates including the University of Mississippi, Belmont University in Nashville, and Hofstra University in Long Island, New York for the debates between Barack Obama and John McCain, while Washington University in St. Louis recently hosted the lone vice-presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

Presidential Debates: A Product of the TV Age
Presidential debates are a fairly new phenomenon, a product of the information age. The first presidential debates were held in 1960 when Richard Nixon squared off against John F. Kennedy, but those four debates were held in television studios, not on college campuses. In fact, for their third debate, the candidates were in separate locations with Nixon in an ABC studio in Hollywood while Kennedy was in an ABC studio in New York City.

Though 1960 marked a turning point for the way presidential candidates discussed and debated issues, the next presidential debates weren’t held until 1976 when Jimmy Carter squared off against Gerald Ford. That year, three presidential debates were held, the first two at theaters in Philadelphia and San Francisco, before The College of William and Mary won the distinction as being the first school to host a debate, the last one for that year.

Back to Campus
It wasn’t until 1988 when colleges were called upon again to host the presidential debates with Wake Forest University and UCLA the venues chosen to allow Michael Dukakis and George Bush to square off. In 1992, with three candidates in contention — Bill Clinton, Ross Perot, and George Bush — three schools hosted the debates: Washington University, University of Richmond, and Michigan State University. In 1996, Clinton and Bob Dole met twice, but each occasion was held at a theater.

In 2000, George W. Bush and Al Gore squared off three times with the University of Massachusetts, Wake Forest University, and Washington University serving as hosts. In 2004, Bush and John Kerry battled three times and met at the University of Miami (FL), Washington University, and at Arizona State University. Washington University has the distinction as being the only school to host four presidential debates with no other school having held more than two. Credit the school’s central location with being the reason it has been picked over and over again.

An Audience of College Students and Faculty
For schools who get to host a debate, an opportunity to have the candidates on campus allows some students and faculty members to witness the debate up close. As in the case of the vice-presidential debate, Washington University used that opportunity to announce via a press release how the school was preparing, noting the national media attention given as well as sharing remarks from students.

“Politics are coming to real life on our campus,” said Bill Restemayer, a freshman from North Dakota involved in student government. “There’s excitement in the air, and it’s all students are talking about — arguing back and forth from both sides. This debate will let me see firsthand if public service is my life’s calling.”

The school also hosted a number of media shows on the day leading up to the debate including the CBS’ The Early Show, MSNBC’s Hardball With Chris Matthews, and other events scheduled by Fox News, CNN, newspapers, and major media outlets.

“I think the vice presidential candidates might truly make or break the presidential election this year,” says senior Brittany Perez, president of Student Union, an undergraduate student government organization. “We want to involve as many students as possible in this process.”

“It’s going to bring a lot of visibility to the University,” notes Perez, who’s already been featured in a number of news stories on the debate. “It’s exciting for students to be a part of it. We have more than 300 student volunteers who will be participating directly in debate preparation, which is invaluable experience.”

Nearly 8000 Washington University students entered a drawing for the 300 student seats set aside for the debate, with most receiving notification at the last minute whether there would be room for them to attend.

On the Road with Mikva Challenge in Wisconsin

2008-10-16T14:45:00.001-05:00

By Suzanne Traub

For DePolitics08

It is quite an experience to campaign for the presidential candidates as a teenager, but the Mikva Challenge really knows how to give opportunities to youth.

The Mikva Challenge is a non-partisan organization that challenges high school students in Chicago to be active participants in the political process through elections, activism, and policy-making programs. This is exactly what happened over the weekend.

On Saturday morning (Oct. 4), five vans full of high school students took off for Kenosha, Wisconsin. Four vans campaigned for Barack Obama and one van for John McCain. The organization always campaigns for both sides, but sometimes finds it difficult to get students excited about every candidate, which was widely noted during this trip.

Lilia Guzman, a student from Josephinum Academy said, “it is a little hard (to campaign for the other candidate) when you really, really like the other person. But it is a good opportunity to learn about the other candidate.”

Once arriving at the campaign offices, the student are handed information about their candidate and what their topic of the day will be. The four students, I accompanied were campaigning for Barack Obama and the subject matter was health care plans. The students had to go door to door and explain why Obama was the right choice, and explain how he is making health care more affordable for people.

This does not sound like a typical day for a high school student, but these are the youth that can make a difference.

While walking through neighborhoods in Kenosha, I quickly learned that this is not always an easy task for these students. Many people were not home, or did not want to talk. At one house a woman said to the students, “I’ll give you the option of leaving now or I’ll slam the door shut.” Politics can sometimes be a touchy subject.

During this trip the students not only had to know the facts of their candidate and how to approach any subject that is asked, but they also had to have the courage to go up to a door and speak about politics. This is quite an achievement for students in the Mikva Challenge.

In addition, traveling out of state is very important for these students in order to get more experience. They have traveled to Iowa, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and next month Michigan and Indiana.

Jelani McEwen, the “Issues to Action” Director said, “Wisconsin is a swing state, where Illinois is not, so it doesn’t give them the true experience. Students also get a perspective of what small town America looks like. The interaction of different people just broadens them as a person, and gives the students courage.”

Therefore, the students become better rounded not just in politics but also as a person. There are many reasons students should get involved. Traveling out of state to campaign is just one of the many perks.

Getting to the know the students:

Lilia Guzman is 18 years old and will be voting in November. She joined when her teacher told her about the Mikva Challenge and the great opportunity. She said, “I wanted to learn more about politics.”

The reason Guzman likes the organization is because she enjoys “learning about the process, elections, and the candidates.” She has been involved since January and wants to remain an active member.

Stephanie Sanchez, a student from Josephinum Academy, is 18 years old and recently joined the Mikva Challenge. Saturday was her first day of campaigning. She said, “I joined because my teacher persisted that I try it out since I just turned 18. Also, I wanted to learn more about the candidates.”

Now that Sanchez knows more about politics, she hopes to get more involved with them when she is older.

David Escobedo is an 18-year-old student from Kelly High School. He said “my teacher presented it (Mikva Challenge) during law class and we were already talking about the presidential election. She talked about the trips and if we wanted to participate we had to get involved with the Mikva Challenge.”

Escobedo’s said his favorite part of the organization is that “it promotes the youth to get involved in politics and I think this is important so we become more accustomed to it and know what is going on in government.”

Moses Williams is a 16-year-old student from Brooks College Prep. He joined the Mikva Challenge when his friend told him about it and he wanted to know more about the political process.

Although it is still early, Williams hopes to major in political science when he goes to college The organization has helped him confirm his love for politics.

Williams said, “My favorite part of the Mikva Challenge is the exposure I get and the being educated about the issues in the election.”

These are just a few of the thousands of students the Mikva Challenge has taken on trips and educated.

To learn more about the trip visit: http://web.me.com/suzanne.traub/Site_2

To learn more about the organization visit: www.mikvachallenge.org

Our man Scott Bolohan…Crashes the party’s Big show in Denver

2008-10-15T14:37:00.000-05:00

As students in Chicago, we are often told about the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the chaos that accompanied it. Looking at this election, the similarities are eerily similar. Youth unrest, no incumbents, a nation at war, a Daley as mayor, it seems like time would be ripe for a replay of the past events.

The famous “the whole world is watching” chant applied to this year’s convention as well, with 38 million Americans watching Sen. Barack Obama’s speech, plus the rest of the world paying close attention to how the South Side native would lay out his plans for the future that have seemingly as great of importance for them as us.

But this was not the convention of our parents or even of four years ago. The security was incredibly tight, and the emphasis on internet and text messaging came to the forefront. Even when I decided to head out to Denver because I thought this was going to be too great of an opportunity to pass up, after looking on various travel sites, I couldn’t find a reasonably priced hotel room within a few hours distance of downtown. So I turned to where many college students look for last minute goods and services – Craigslist. And found myself a room within three miles of downtown for $60 a night, although I didn’t have any access to any of the convention events, it still seemed like it would be worth it to be in the center of the political world for two days.

I arrived on Wednesday and went down as close to the home of the convention, the Pepsi Center, as I could get, which turned out to be around a mile away. I expected to see protests on the streets, but there was only a few small groups, including an anti-abortion line that was pretty vocal. But most of the people down there were either selling things (Obama shirts for $10, five buttons for $10, and Obama water for $2), passing out things (the anti-war group with “Make Out Not War” stickers or the Rednecks for Obama) or trying to get into the event itself. Most of these people were college students.

Zahir Rahman, 20, a Wake Forest junior, was in Denver for the College Democrats Convention and had passes for the Obama speech but was hoping to get extra credentials by singing and dancing parodies of songs about getting credentials.

“I really wanted to see Joe Biden tonight, Rahman said. “I got in the last two nights doing this so hopefully I’ll get in one more. I was dancing yesterday and the day before they just gave me passes.”

A couple feet away from Rahman was Michigan State University senior Michael Mersol-Barg made a sign that said “Will do something ridiculous for credientials.” He was also there with the College Democrats. The night before he won a raffle for credentials, but wanted to see Clinton and Biden.

“Originally the College Democrats of America were promised so many credentials based on membership, which basically meant there was a 50/50 chance of getting one each day. The DNC reneged on that and said they were only giving enough for the executive board each day, so people like me are left doing this. I have my tickets for tomorrow at Invesco Field. That’s one of the nice things, I think Obama went out of his way to make sure as many college-aged students were there, whether it’s for political reasons or not, I don’t really care, I’m there. [Laughs] I’m really looking forward tomorrow. So few people will get to say they were actually there when we nominated our first African American.”

He said that the night before at the convention was “pretty cool.”

“I’m pretty excited to be here,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect, I’d heard it was really cool, I saw it from the TV but it’s very different here. You see the crowds on TV, but when you are in there, it’s crazy. When Hillary walked out the crowd was thunderous. You could feel the sound. I got chills down my spine.”

After talking to the two of them, (Editors note: they both got in.) I decided to try my own luck at getting into the convention, so I made a sign simply asking for any extra credentials and walked around. Within five minutes a man on a bike came over and gave me two credentials to the event tonight. It was suspiciously easy. I ran back to the Pepsi Center entrance and proudly showed off my new credential to security and began the long process of getting in.

The line stretched for a few thousand people and went around 10 across. Security, realizing the unorganized crowd and how difficult it would be to control them, issued the instructions to “not walk faster than the person in front of you.” And surprisingly it worked. After three checkpoints where I had to flash my credential, I finally arrived at security. It wasn’t as tight as at the airport (I got to keep my shoes on) and it moved pretty quickly. After another stretch to the Pepsi Center and showing my credential yet again, I got into the arena.

I quickly learned that there were tiers to the credentials. My credential was second lowest. It was an Arena pass, which let me into the Pepsi Center, but not into an actual seat. Essentialy, it let me wander around the concourse and purchase $4 waters. Disappointed, I decided to make the best out of the situation. They had big TV screens that you could watch what was going on behind the curtains a few feet away. Instead of standing and watching most of the speakers I’d never heard of, I went to look for people to interview.

The press were all located on the second level so if I was going to run into anyone there, I figured that would be the place. With every major Democrat in the world probably at the convention, I figured it would be like shooting fish in a barrel (which is supposed to be easy). It turned out it was more like a real-life “Where’s Waldo” with everyone in either a black suit or business dress.

I finally found some people that most every college student would know. Rob Riggle, Aasif Mandvi, and Larry Wilmore from The Daily Show news team were hanging out as mobs of fans approached them asking for pictures. Riggle did a segment with a delegate and then they went back into the convention. I overheard Riggle saying that he was worn out after spending the last couple days in the Mile High City.

I headed back down to the first level to see if I could find anyone there and I stopped to talk to a couple of college-aged volunteers manning the doors for the entrance to the seats. They told me they weren’t allowed to speak to reporters and when I pressed them a little they just didn’t answer. I did see Biff Henderson from “The Late Show with David Letterman” interviewing some of the more eccentric looking people in attendance. Soon after Bill Clinton took the stage for a highly anticipated speech and the concourse cleared out except for the people that couldn’t get seats and crowded around the TVs to watch. The consensus was that the speech went over very well among the Dems.

I noticed that after Clinton spoke a lot of people were leaving. After my luck with the Arena credential, I made another sign asking if anyone leaving could give me their Hall of Floor credential so I could sit down. In about 10 minutes I collected a Special and an Honored Guest Hall credential that would get me into the seats on the top level and in enough time to see Joe Biden speak. I hurried back in and on the second level I bumped into a 6’4’’ balding man who had to be former President Gerald Ford. Alright, so it was really Chevy Chase, but it was just about as cool. He was walking right next to me and our interaction went like this.

Me: Oh my gosh, Mr. Chase!
Chevy Chase: Yes…yes…
Me: I’m a student journalist from DePaul University, could I ask you a couple questions while you walk?
Chase: No.

He then sped up and snuck behind a curtain.

Didn’t go exactly as planned, but I had to get to my seats so it didn’t really bother me too much. Up on the third level, people were trying to get into the seats still. They had the same Hall passes as I did, apparently they gave out too many and a lot of people were still stuck in the Halls. I flashed my credential and they told me there weren’t any seats but asked if I already had a seat up there.

Now I obviously didn’t but I told them I did and they let me go. There were a few empty seats but they were all taken. I wasn’t about to leave the actual arena part, so I walked up to the top and sat down on the steps. I was pretty high up and at the very tip of stage left, but being inside was overwhelming. I thought back to the black and white pictures from the turn of the century of convention-goers and thought that I was there. Just the night before I was watching Hillary speak from my living room, and not even 24 hours later, I was actually there.

The theme for the night was foreign policy, so they showed a video about Iraq and brought out some veterans and general to speak before the keynote speaker Biden came out. During the primaries I wasn’t that impressed with Biden, and during a year with Obama and Hillary, a typical candidate seemed just sort of boring. But his speech was impressive. He told of his personal history of tragedy and seemed like a very relatable and good guy. At the end of the speech Obama popped out as a surprise guest and briefly talked about Biden. Then both the Biden and Obama families came out on stage while “We Are Family” played over the speakers. It was a nice moment, and it fit in with the uniting the party and backing Biden theme of the day.

Outside of the Pepsi Center, things were calm. After the Rage Against the Machine show, the Iraqi War Veterans marched downtown, but there was no talk of that inside of the convention and no signs of any lingering disturbances on the streets.

Day one was a success, but the big Obama speech at Invesco Field was sure to be more of a challenge. In the papers they were talking about it being the toughest ticket in Colorado history. Maybe it was a little bit of the Obama campaign rubbing off on me, but I had hope that I could get it.

I got downtown around 11 a.m. and the line to get into Invesco Field was already thousands of people long. At the end of the line, the field wasn’t even visible. Once again there were people hawking Obama souvenirs to the people standing in line. There were also about a dozen people with signs of their own looking for tickets, including a licensed scalper who told me he was looking to get six tickets, one at a time. I talked with Vivian Lu, 20, a junior from Boulder, Col. who goes to Columbia University.

“I’ve been here for about an hour,” Lu said. “I saw some people that got really lucky and asked some guy who was a volunteer and he had a bunch of extras. I signed up to volunteer but they never got back to me. I wasn’t expecting to come home this summer but I did. Otherwise I would have signed up for tickets.”

I knew this was going to be a lot tougher to get into than the night before, so I stepped up my sign making. Everyone else’s signs just said “Need One” or something along those lines. Mine said, “Support change…ing me not having a credential.”

I was quickly a crowd favorite, drawing laughs and encouragements. A Colorado Pulic Radio reporter came by to interview me and she told me that there seemed to be a lot of people looking for tickets but not many to be had. I told her I got in the night before, but soon an hour passed, and then another, and the line grew to tens of thousands of people, so much that a second line had to be formed because there was no more space.

I stayed by the end of the line because I figured that’s where everyone had to go, and I had just about lost hope. With the competition, plus people saying that the tickets needed to be activated by the day before in my name or they wouldn’t work, it didn’t seem like it was going to happen for me. So I picked out a spot in the shade and stood, already exhausted from my day walking around.

A guy that looked to be about my age came over to me. My hopes got up. He asked me how much I’d pay for a ticket. I told him I wasn’t going to pay anything. He laughed and walked away, 0-1.

Three young looking delegates in suits walked passed me, one giving me an extra long look to read my sign. Right after he passed me he opened up his jacket and out of his inside pocket he pulled out the Golden Ticket. Well, more like the holographic red ticket, but you get the idea. He said he had an extra and didn’t know what to do with it and didn’t want to have it end up with a scalper. I was in a state of combined shock and elation. The hard part was over, now the daunting line, in the tens of thousands of people and the possibility that my ticket wouldn’t be activated was ahead, but I had my ticket.

It was very hot out, in the upper 80s with no shade and no Obama water for sale anywhere. It took 45 minutes for the line to even move. I talked with a guy who was worried about activating his ticket as well, and we called the DNC headquarters and they told us that we wouldn’t be able to get in if it wasn’t activated. Not looking good, but we stayed in line. Behind me was a group of college journalists from The Washington Center who paid $4,000 each to go to Denver for the last two weeks for the convention. Adhdfhsdhdf

After over two hours in line, I reached the front. I flashed my credential and was passed the first checkpoint. The second checkpoint the tickets were getting scanned. There had been rumors that you would have to show ID and have it match up with information on the tickets in order to get in, but I thought this was a logistical disaster, and as I approached the scanners, there were no IDs being show. The moment of truth was ahead of me.

My ticket scanned.

I had a big sigh of relief and then continued on the endless path to the stadium. Security was just as tight as the night before, and I moved though quickly again. I showed my credential again (at this point you’d have to be pretty good to sneak through) and walked inside the stadium. The credential gave you a section where you could sit and seats were first come, first serve. I had 502, in the top deck in the southeast corner. It turned out those were pretty good seats. They faced the stage (although it looked like I was watching from the observation deck at the Sears Tower) and were out of the sun. The stadium was at best a quarter full when I arrived, and I picked a seat in the seventh row with no obstructions. After all of that, I had only missed about 45 minutes of the convention.

The speakers were a Who’s Who in Democratic politics. Howard Dean, Nancy, Pelosi, Joe Biden, Al Gore (who gave a great speech), Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, and entertainers John Legend, will.i.am, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, and awkwardly Michael McDonald all performed. In between speeches they had a map on the big scoreboard where if you send a text to the Obama campaign, a light would flash from where you lived. They also had trivia questions to encourage people to text. What they weren’t entirely clear about was that, much like the text alerts for the VP nomination, you would be sent further texts from the Obama campaign. A very clever way to mobilize people, especially the youth.

The atmosphere was different than any other political rally I’d been too. People were eating peanuts and hot dogs, and even the first potential DNC wave happened. Even for us in the upper deck or for those behind the stage, the big screens gave people a clear view of the proceedings. Obama’s stage did look a little bit ridiculous, especially in light of him being compared to celebrities by the McCain camp, but with 85,000 people watching, a little bit of flair didn’t seem that obtrusive.

Finally the sun set and, following a video, Obama took the stage unannounced. It wasn’t until he was shown on the screens that the upper deck knew what happened. It was pandemonium. After a day waiting in the sun, it seemed a little anti-climatic, but Obama held everyone’s attention through his speech. It covered everything it needed too, and took a few jabs at the McCain campaign which drew cheers. For a speech that was meant to be seen not just by his followers in the stadium, but by the rest of the world, it accomplished his goals. As I watched, I wasn’t particularly blown away, especially after all of the hype. But when his speech finished and the confetti was falling and the fireworks going off overhead, it felt like one of those great moments in a movie that you so rarely experience in real life. This was a big event, not only this year, but in the history of our country. And I was there.

The next day I rented a bike and rode around by the Pepsi Center where the news stations were moving out and security barriers were being removed. At Invesco, there were workers tearing down the set up inside, but otherwise there was no sign that any historic political event happened there the night before. No Obama signs, no empty Obama water bottles, no errant American flag lapel pins. Nothing.

Next I went down the Aurora campus, which is home to University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State College of Denver. The campus basically went up until the Pepsi Center so the campus was closed for the week. I expected to see students buzzing on the street after such a big event was held in their backyard. But there was literally not a soul in sight. I half expected to see a tumbleweed roll by. Although college students seem to be more involved with this election than any in recent history, if there’s one thing that can be done to get students to like you, it’s getting a couple days off of school.

But as Hurricane Gustav showed, these conventions are really nothing more than a bloated party for the, well, parties. Sort of the Academy Awards of politics. While we could obviously do without them, it sure makes it more interesting.

… and gets insights
on ’68 convention

Forty years ago he took the stage for eight hours in Lincoln Park playing music for the protesters of the Democratic National Convention. This year in Denver, Wayne Kramer was back at it again playing alongside Rage Against the Machine.

Kramer was the guitar player in the radical rock group the MC5 and a member of the White Panther Party in the 60’s. The group’s song, “Kick Out The Jams” became a hit and gained attention for its explicit opening line.

But Kramer, 60, is as politically charged as ever, and appears frequently with Rage guitarist Tom Morello on his Axis of Justice tour to promote political activism.

“It’s very exciting to play with Rage Against the Machine, they’re a pretty hard rocking band, it’s just my style, you know?” Kramer said. “It was a little bit surreal for me because 40 years ago I didn’t think I’d be playing another protest against another war that we’d been lied into.”

Kramer called the DNC “a beautifully executed infomercial” said that he wasn’t surprised by the lack of protests as opposed to in Chicago.

“Street protests were an effective strategy in the ‘60s,” Kramer said. “They’re not in the 2000s. The authorities have learned their lessons well. They’ve learned how to control the streets just as they’ve learned how to control information. That’s why we don’t see any flag draped coffins or and photos of horrors from the battlefields.”

He said that new protest methods need to be used instead of violence in the street and that music can still play a role.

“I think they have to put on their thinking caps and they have to find a new paradigm. The things that me and Tom Morello and other artists do to use whatever kind of equity we have in attention getting because we happen to be rock musicians, that’s kind of the strategy that we birthed in the MC5 and the White Panther Party, which was to talk hit rock music and use that to get that message to the youth. We just couldn’t convert the hit rock part of it. [Laughs] I think that regular folks need to find a paradigm and I think they’ll find it in their own neighborhood, their own workplace, their own school, their own house, their own friends. Change starts from the bottom up, it doesn’t start form the top down.”

I’m a supporter of Barack but he is not the messiah. He cannot deliver the American people, the American people have to deliver themselves.

Kramer, an Obama supporter, said that feeling in Denver didn’t compare to the ’68 convention.

“In ’68 there was this general palpable insecurity about not only the immediate, proximate insecurity, being the Chicago Police Department, but there was a larger and deeper insecurity because nobody knew what was going to happen. The nation was fractured and these political assassinations really got to people. We didn’t know that the war was going to start to wind down in a couple years and that the threat of nuclear accident or mistake wasn’t going to burn up the planet. There was a really deep seeded, almost a palpable fear about everything, which of course, heightened your highs but made everything more intense. Personally I’d rather not have such high highs and low lows, I’d rather just grove along in the middle.”

Kramer was critical of the current state of the youth, but blames his generation for the way they brought up kids.

“That’s one of the pitfalls of my generations’ raising kids. They call themselves ‘the millenniums’ and they don’t have much of a sense of building anything or much of a sense in honor and work and labor. Everything is kind of there. I think it’s a sense of entitlement that is starting to smell like self-centeredness and solipsism that is really discouraging. But it’s not fair to compare either. The draft was a huge polarizing and radicalizing force as well. If John McCain was to win this election and reinstitute the draft, a lot of people would start to get really militant quick.”

Chicago’s Mikva Challenge Faces its Own Challenge: Finding McCain Supporters in Local High Schools

2008-10-15T13:12:00.000-05:00

By Erin Osmon
For Depolitics08

The Mikva Challenge, a non-partisan organization that engages Chicago high school students in the democratic process through policy making, activism and electoral participation, is a unique challenge of their own.

The "non-partisan" facet of Mikva's mission is being challenged as the group struggles to recruit student support for Republican presidential nominee John McCain. You see, Democratic nominee Barack Obama not only hails from Illinois, but in many cases the same Hyde Park neighborhood as Mikva’s students and their friends and family.

Obama’s “Hometown Hero” status, combined with the fact that Mikva is primarily composed of young minorities who identify themselves as liberal, has made support for McCain especially hard to come by.

Why is it a big deal? The Mikva Challenge must remain non-partisan in order to be considered a not-for-profit. In other words, their funding is contingent upon their neutrality.

By definition, student participants must provide equal support for both major party candidates to be considered non-partisan, forcing Mikva’s leaders to really step up to the plate.

Brenan Smith, Senior Program Director for the Mikva Challenge says students have been so energized by Obama that Mikva has actually had to lower their ratio for bi-partisan participation. Once 50/50, equal parts Republican to Democrat, the ratio now hovers around 25 percent for Republican to 75 percent Democrat support. While not ideal, Mikva stands by their decision and non-partisanship.

With seemingly unanimous support for Obama, how has the Mikva Challenge gotten support for the Republican party? Simple questioning.

When anonymously presented with issues and each party’s stance on those issues, many students discover that they actually aren’t as liberal as they once thought.

“At the Kickoff this weekend, 240 students first identified the national issues that were most important to them. Then, we told them the stances of the candidates (without saying who said what) and gave them a chance to debate the issues,” said Smith.

Many students discovered that a lot of their ideas about issues like healthcare and taxes aligned with the Republican candidate. However, that doesn’t mean they immediately signed up for McCain.

Another big difference this year is that Mikva will be taking their students out of state to work the elections, as Illinois has been dubbed a shoe-in for Senator Obama.

The organization will be driving groups of students to Michigan and Wisconsin, as opposed to their normal schedule of working strictly within the Chicago city limits. Leaders are brining five students on each trip and one or two out of each group have pledged to work for McCain.

"It just makes it more interesting, “ Smith notes of this year's activities. "We feel our work will have a greater impact in Wisconsin and Michigan, where many voters are still undecided."

Because of the Mikva Challenge’s unique challenge, students have been forced to think further outside of the box, something the organization readily supports. However, don’t expect Mikva’s students to register as Republicans anytime soon.

‘Sarah has it in her,’ DePaul student Tells Canadian Press

2008-10-15T13:08:00.004-05:00

By Lee-Anne Goodman

The Canadian Press
(written Oct. 2, 2008)

WASHINGTON - When John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate in a daring political gamble five weeks ago, many suggested it was a brazen attempt to lure women - in particular, angry Hillary Clinton supporters - away from Barack Obama.

It was a typical McCain roll of the dice that appeared to have worked beautifully for a brief moment. In the days following the Republican National Convention and Palin's spirited speech at the event, the party claimed it had snagged one in five disgruntled Clinton backers who were furious at the way they felt the Obama campaign had treated their candidate during the Democratic primary.

Little more than a month later, however - and after a series of near-disastrous Palin interviews with CBS's Katie Couric - polls are suggesting women are flocking back in large numbers to Obama.

Women were preparing to watch closely on Thursday night when Palin was set to square off against Joe Biden in a hotly anticipated debate expected to draw more viewers than those who tuned in last week to watch the presidential showdown between Obama and McCain.

"I just want to see if she can connect with people again, if the people handling her and coaching her are finally going to let her be herself again," Brooke Anderson, 24, a journalism graduate student at DePaul University in Chicago, said Thursday.
"I'm almost feeling bad for her because I don't think she's been doing the best that she can do."

Some female observers have been far more damning toward the self-styled "hockey mom."

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker even urged Palin to drop out of the race last week in a column that was praised by others on the right. "Do it for your country," wrote Parker, a onetime vocal Palin cheerleader.

Emily Bazelon wrote on Slate.com that she fears Palin's poor performance on the national stage could even set women back in political spheres.

"Laugh at the Tina Fey parodies that make Palin ridiculous just by quoting her verbatim. And then cry," she wrote.

"When Palin tanks, it's good for the country if you want Obama and Biden to win, but it's bad for the future of women in national politics .... Palin is the most prominent woman on the political stage at the moment. By taking unprepared hesitancy and lack of preparation to a sentence-stopping level, she's yanking us back to the old assumption that women can't hack it at these heights."

Anderson, from Deerfield Beach, Fla., disagrees. "I don't think she's set things back for us because I think she has it in her, but the Katie Couric interviews have been really damaging," she said.

"It's like she's been prepped by all the neo-cons, and they've been pumping her full of stats and facts and figures and not allowing her to just be herself."

"It's like she's answering bad essay questions that she doesn't know the answers to, and she's over-thinking everything and how her responses are going to be perceived by the media."

Students for McCain Predict Wisconsin win

2008-10-13T16:23:00.001-05:00

By Frank James IV

Special to depolitics08

West Allis, Wis. – The phones were busy at Victory Center in West Allis. The Students for McCain were making calls to swing the neutral vote towards a John McCain victory in the upcoming Presidential election.

“Thursdays are Marquette night,” said Matt Dambach, chairman of Students for McCain. He was referring to one of the days that he and other Marquette students work the phone banks at the McCain campaign headquarters located in 1470 S. 84th street.“We have four students here tonight, but we usually have around ten that come out.”

The phones are one way the students are helping get McCain’s message to the independent voters in Wisconsin. “We pass out the literature on Saturdays,” Dambach said. He went on to say that the phones have been the main focus of the group. “We can make two or three calls in the time it takes to walk from one house to the next.”

The turnout was lower on this night, according to Dambach, because many of the group had been to see McCain who had been in Waukesha earlier. “I got to shake his hand,” he said. He also met McCain’s running mate, Alaska governor, Sarah Palin at the event.

Allison Herre and Sarah Bartlett were two other Marquette students working the phones Thursday night. “I come down about three times a week,” said Herre.

The students were optimistic but confident that on Nov. 5h the country would wake up to a McCain victory. “McCain never gives up,” Dambach said, referring to McCain falling behind Barack Obama in the polls. “He’s going to have to visit more and generate excitement,” Herre felt about McCain winning Wisconsin.

“The youth vote is so important,” said Bartlett. “Youth tend to side with trend and the now Obama is the trend.”

“Young people are susceptible to peer pressure,” added Dambach. “This is why it is important for independent voters to know the issues and policies of the candidates. McCain has a lot of fight left and so do we.”

“Obama has strong words and people tune in to that,” said Bartlett. “If McCain can appeal to those emotions, he can pull it out in Wisconsin.”

Marquette students get Hollywood treatment

2008-10-13T16:18:00.003-05:00

By Frank James IV

Special to Depolitics08

Hollywood came to Marquette University in support of Barack Obama. Screen stars: Adam Brody of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Joy Bryant of Antwone Fisher, were on the campus working with the Students for Obama group to push voter registration and their candidate into the White House.

“Young people need to show the older generation the right way to go,” stated Brody. He went on to say that this generation grew up in a different era from previous ones it terms of racism. “We grew up in a time without the hang-ups other generations had, its’ up to the youth to show their grandparents the way.”

Both celebrities were clear in expressing views about Obama.

“He’s not professing to be our savior, he’s letting us save ourselves,” said Bryant.

“He is a candidate you can actually be proud of,” added Brody. He jokingly compared Obama and Republican candidate John McCain’s intelligence, “Who would you want operating on your kid?”

Brody mentioned the impact Obama could have on the status of the United States abroad, saying “Barack will repair our standing in the world.”
Bryant added: “We have to end this age of cynicism. This campaign is empowering all of us.”

The rally was attended by 190 students. Many crowded around the two stars after it was over for autographs and pictures. “It was good that they brought people you could relate to,” said Matt Willens.

Not all who attended the rally were committed to Obama. Laura and Christina, Marquette students, were undecided. “I am still doing research,” Christina said when asked about her choice for the upcoming election.

The undecided youth vote is one that both McCain and Obama are hoping to capture. “We feel confident that the youth vote will show up,” said Caitlin Andrews co chair of Students for Obama.

Wisconsin is a swing state. Because of this, the youth and student vote has great importance. One of the main functions of Students for Obama has been to increase voter registration, according to Andrews. The organization is gearing up for a final push during this last month of campaigning. They have events scheduled for the month to increase voter registration and Obama supporters.

“Youth has the power to change the tide,” said Andrews.

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2008-10-12T13:01:00.002-05:00

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