Wanted: Student Votes

In a state full of colleges and universities, the student vote would be hard to overlook in this year's Massachusetts statewide elections.

With the passage of the motor-voter bill last year, top Democratic leaders in the state are predicting the increased importance of the student vote. Candidates running for congressional seats and the governor's office are using students to get their word out on campuses and are tailoring platforms to address student concerns.

And budding politicians are taking advantage of the need for student support and are hooking themselves into campaigns for their first taste of politics.

Learning the Ropes

For most students, working on campaigns gives them a chance to learn the ropes and network with established, as well as rising, politicos.

"It is a good experience in politics and [students] can get a feel for what the campaign is about and they can learn more about local politics," says Mark N. Sheridan '95, one of many students working on the campaign of Mark Roosevelt '78 (D-Beacon Hill).

Sheridan says he researched his candidate's voting records and is trying to recruit Harvard students to help with his candidate's campaign.

Many student workers and volunteers, like Sheridan, man phone lines, organizes speeches on college campuses ad put up posters, learning while on the job. Others, however, are going to school--campaign school, that is.

The Republican State Committee encourages students to attend "campaign schools"--short weekend seminars on political races--as a way to increases their involvement in the campaign.

These schools teach students the "basic ins-and-outs of campaigning," including direct mail and fundraising. While the schools are non-partisan, most of the students who attend are politically conservative, chair of the Massachusetts College Republicans John, N. Racho says.

These political "boot camps" are part of a statewide effort to get students involved in the Republican Party, said Racho.

"College students are young, bright ad articulate," Racho says. "We need to open their vision so they understand what an impact they can make."

At Harvard, campus political groups are politicking themselves by campaigning and getting fellow students registered to vote.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Democrats plan to promote candidates' positions this semester and organize volunteers to work in campaign headquarters next fall, President Jomo A. Thorne '97 said.

"We would like to organize forums about health care and welfare in the spring ad invite Sen. [Edward M.] Kennedy ['54-'56] and [Rep.] Barney Frank ['61 (D-Mass.] to come speak to our group," Thorne said.

The student Democrats' agenda is very focused, Thorne adds. "We want to support the health-care reform act, remove Gov. Weld, re-elect Sen. Kennedy and defeat the Republican Congressmen in the state."

Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club President Bradford P. Campbell '95 says his group adopted a two-part strategy to get Republican candidates elected.

"The first half of the year we will be primarily getting our name out, and the second half we will help with the candidate's campaigns, which will be critical for the election," Campbell said.

Campbell said the club will try to encourage students to register to vote in Massachusetts, but said it might be better for Republican students to remain registered in their home states.

And Republican Law School students eyeing the job market, find that participating in Republican candidate's campaigns means working for a common cause and possibly even landing future employment.

"We all agree on less government and less taxes and so our group will be interested in doing stuff for both the conservative and the moderate Republican," says third-year law student William C. Waller, president of the Law School's Republican club.

"There is a future there for individuals who want to get involved; they can work on a campaign here and then they could be down in Washington working on an internship," he said.

And campaign managers across the political spectrum are singing the praises of student volunteers.

"The college-age group is very important to our campaign," says Michael L. Kennedy '80, campaign manager for Kennedy. "We're looking for students to assist in fundraising, record keeping and data entry."

Addressing Student Concerns

Not only are candidates hiring students as campaign help, but they're also depending on them to keep the campaign in touch with the concerns of young people.

"Students are the lifeblood of our organization," says Brian O'Connor '78, the District Director for Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass).

Campaign managers are specially packaging their candidates' platforms to appeal to student concerns and get their electoral attention.

Issues such as financial aid, the job market and health insurance are top priorities for the candidates hoping to capture student votes.

"Students have shown a lot of interest in the governor's race, says David M. Osborne, campaign manager for gubernatorial candidate State Sen. Michael J. Barrett '70 (D-Cambridge). "Gov. [William F.] Weld has been so bad on higher education issues that students want to see him beaten."

Edward Kennedy will emphasize issues such as financial aid, education reform and national public service to the college population.

He will also stress his involvement in Goal 2000--an initiative which reforms secondary and public education across the country, Michael Kennedy says.

"[Edward Kennedy] wants to reconnect with young people, and stress how important he has been to their future," he adds.

But one issue all the campaigns are banking on at the polls will be the dismal Massachusetts job market.

"Seniors want to know if they are going to be able to get a job when they graduate," says John G. Corsak, director of computer operations for the Weld Committee.

The Weld campaign will focus its campaign on employment issues and direct this message to upperclass students, Corsak says.

Roosevelt will also discuss with students the future of Massachussetts--a state which has lost 130,000 jobs.