Area Colleges Gear Up for Election

With Election Day just around the corner, student Democratic and Republican groups are gearing up their final support efforts for their candidates.

Campaigning techniques at Boston area schools range from traditional postering and speechmaking tactics to zanier projects like the cannon-painting war that takes place at Tufts.

Every election year, political groups at the school's Medford campus try to best each other in painting political slogans on a replica of the U.S.S. Constitution's cannon, said Eunice E. Kim, chairman of the Tufts Republican Club. "We hope to be the one who gets [the cannon] last," Kim said. She added that the Republicans plan to post a guard at the cannon for about five hours on election night to prevent the Democrats from winning the game.

But the club has also turned its political guns against the issues, Kim said. The Republican Club demonstrated against Gov. Michael S. Dukakis when he came to speak at Tufts last week, she said. "We shook him up and got some good press," she added.

Members of student groups at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they are running a visibility campaign to remind people to vote, and inform them about the key issues.

"I think most of the students could care less, but we have been able to present our views and voice our opinions," said Paul W. Kan, chairman of Bush for President.

Supporters of Vice President George Bush are posting copies of Bush's resume around the campus, which drew a positive response from students, Kan said. "MIT students are very resume-conscious," he said.

Students have also papered the campus with positive quotations about Bush from public figures like Polish labor leader Lech Walesa.

Student groups are also sponsoring a series of debates to spark interest in the national contest.

On October 31, the Tufts Republican Club will participate in a debate on party platforms among students. Kim said the debate will be similar in format to the televised Presidential debates. Boston College (BC) will also hold its first Soapbox Debate on October 29, said Frank C. McLaughlin, chairman of the College Republicans.

McLaughlin added that Oliver North will be speaking at BC about covert operations on November 2, in an effort to promote Republican support for the Nicaraguan contras. Members of the Democratic Club at BC plan to protest that speech, said senior Cecilia M. Olavarria, president of the school's Democratic Club.

Robert E. Potter, president of MIT Democrats, said that the Republican and Democrat clubs there will also hold a debate on November 2.