Scott Bressler
Looking around at the campaign trail in the 2008 election, one cannot help but notice marked differences from previous elections.
Instead of the impassioned doctor Howard Dean challenging the staid Massachusetts senator John Kerry, an African-American senator is competing with a former first lady and fellow senator for the Democratic nomination. And rather than a politically inactive youth demographic, this election students across the country are becoming more involved than ever before, and the 2008 presidential candidates are relying on their energetic support.
“We are brimming with optimism and excitement at the fact that it is us who are choosing the next president of the United States. This year is something unique in that we’re not voting against someone, we’re voting for something: an idea and a platform much bigger than any one person,” said senior Matt Adler, one of the leaders of the Washington University chapter of Students for Barack Obama (SFBO).
From the beginning of 2007 when bids for the candidacy were emerging, students were already being enlisted to help with the various campaigns. As early as March 2007, Republican candidate Mitt Romney offered “Students for Mitt” a 10 percent commission on any fundraising they accomplished over $1,000.
“[This offer is] for the kids that want to get involved in a political campaign and they don’t want to spend their summer painting houses,” said Romney spokesman Kevin Modden in a March 27, 2007 MSNBC article.
Democratic candidates have also made significant efforts toward enlisting youth support, with and without monetary reimbursement. Especially for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the 17 to 24 age bracket is both crucial and sought after. According to a Jan. 23 issue of The Politico, 57 percent of Democratic voters in Iowa between the ages of 17 and 24 support Barack Obama.
At such a close margin, however, the race for the Democratic nomination is what sophomore Annie Rushman refers to as “anyone’s game.”
On the University’s campus, and even in the dorms, one is bombarded with press, paraphernalia and propaganda for the various candidates. Because of the University student body’s overwhelmingly liberal leanings, as the recent Student Life campus political poll indicates, an especially large group has come together to support Barack Obama for the democratic nomination.
Like many other liberals on the University’s campus, Adler said he initially was not sure which candidate he wanted to support.
“I wasn’t sure who I was going to support before [winter break], but when I saw that the race was so close and that Obama really needed my support, I stepped forward and starting making calls for the campaign from my home to college students in Iowa,” said Adler.
Adler and his fellow students have banded together to form a sort of political powerhouse on campus, and his passion for the Obama campaign is similar to that of many other students at the University as well as throughout the nation.
“We’re savvy, smart and sophisticated, and Barack Obama has valued us since day one, not just since other politicos started realizing our generation was voting in numbers unheard of for decades,” said Adler.
Even though the conservative side of the campaign has appeared far more muted on the University campus, President of the College Republicans Charis Fischer said she still sees considerable potential for Republican student involvement.
“I don’t think it’s harder for Republican students to get involved, but for some it may be intimidating. It can be a challenge to put yourself out there in the face of so many students and professors who disagree with your views, but in my opinion it’s always worth it. I think most Republican students are actually excited about the opportunity to challenge the liberal politics that dominate this campus,” said Fischer.
On both sides of the political spectrum, from liberal to conservative, many campaigning activities remain the same. Besides researching a candidate to support on the Internet, canvassing, phone banking and coordinating activities all provide easy outlets into the campaign trail.
Rushman spends many of her extracurricular hours campaigning for Hillary Clinton, and acts as one of the main liaisons between Clinton and the Washington University campus. Even though the students for Barack Obama seem to have more visible campus presence, Rushman said she believes that this has to do with the timing and coordination of the campaigning.
“Hillary’s office in St. Louis just opened over winter break, and field organizers and press directors have come from New Hampshire to increase the student involvement. The race is still open: there’s no right or wrong way to get involved,” said Rushman.
Rushman also said the Hillary campaign on campus will begin tabling the week of Jan. 28, and the end of primaries will provide a bigger presence from the Clinton campaign.
Also, Fischer mentioned ways for conservative students to become more involved in the campaigning. While the College Republicans do not endorse any one candidate at the moment, Fischer said, “Once the nominee is chosen, (the College Republicans) will be very active in doing what we can to help them get elected. At that point we will welcome any volunteers who would like to contribute their time.”