Students volunteer as election approaches

‘ ‘ ‘ A freshman wearing a blue Sen. Barack Obama T-shirt sits on the ground floor of the… ‘ ‘ ‘ A freshman wearing a blue Sen. Barack Obama T-shirt sits on the ground floor of the Cathedral of Learning reading. ‘ ‘ ‘ Devani Whitehead, the freshman, is excited about Obama and voting. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘[He’s] something different, something new,’ she said. ‘I’m going to vote for the first time.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Although she does not volunteer with the Obama campaign, she is one of many Pitt students getting involved in political issues and showing her opinion openly. ‘ ‘ ‘ Chris Bonneau, director of undergraduate studies in the political science department, said that he has seen an increase in students getting involved from the 2004 presidential election. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘If we look at the number of students who wear buttons,’ he said, ‘the number seems to be higher.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Studies by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement do in fact show a trend for increased voter turnout among young voters. ‘ ‘ ‘ For the 2004 presidential election, voter turnout for ages 18 to 24 increased by 11 percent from the 2000 election, according to a July 2005 study. ‘ ‘ ‘ A June 2008 study by the same organization shows that among voters ages 18 to 29, turnout in both presidential elections and primaries increased steadily starting with the year 2000. ‘ ‘ ‘ Bonneau cited prominent issues like the economy and the war in Iraq as reasons for student involvement. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘There’s a lot of anxiety about finding good paying jobs,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Big issues may not be the only reason students get involved politically. Allison Price, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign, said that new technology has made it easy for students to get involved and play a larger role in politics. ‘ ‘ ‘ In addition to official campaign Web sites, Price said the Obama campaign uses social networking sites like myspace.com and facebook.com to reach people they might not reach otherwise. ‘ ‘ ‘ Price agreed that concern about the economy and Iraq helps mobilize students. ‘ ‘ ‘ Although she stressed that Obama’s campaign strives to involve all age groups, she said that student efforts in canvassing, tabling on college campuses and registering new voters have been invaluable. ‘ ‘ ‘ In fact, Students for Barack Obama, which started in 2006 as an unofficial movement, proved so effective that the campaign integrated the group and made it official. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It was the passion and dedication of students across the country that transformed the SFBO group,’ said Price. ‘ ‘ ‘ The McCain campaign also utilizes student volunteers. Peter Feldman, the campaign’s regional communications director, attests to high student involvement in the campaign. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘This campaign would not exist if not for young volunteers,’ said Feldman. ‘ ‘ ‘ He said the campaign has also been advertising online, using YouTube.com and social networking sites. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Facebook is a terrific recruiting tool for the campaign,’ he said. ‘Students are spending a lot of time online talking about the issues.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ However, Feldman said that the biggest reasons students are getting more involved are political issues, not technology. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I think the major reason for [increased involvement] is the number of issues on the table that will have a significant and lasting impact on students,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ College Republicans president Patrick Graham said that the group has seen its highest membership since he started at Pitt, with an average of 50 to 60 people attending each meeting, up from an average of 20 in 2006. ‘ ‘ ‘ Graham said, ‘A lot of people want to get involved in the campaign.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ In addition to tabling on campus, giving presentations about McCain and phone banking, the group volunteers with local campaigns, such as Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa. ‘ ‘ ‘ The College Democrats are more active this year, as well. President Lissa Geiger said that student Democrats are getting involved by phone banking, canvassing, wearing buttons and T-shirts, discussing issues with their friends in person and online, tabling and watching the debates. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘There is something special about this election,’ said Geiger. ‘Students want to be able to say that they did something to elect the first black president.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Geiger said that the Internet and media saturation made it easy for students to get caught up in the election. ‘ ‘ ‘ Patrick Gillie, vice president of College Libertarians, agreed that students are getting more involved. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Young people are more engaged and aware than they have been in the past and are seriously concerned about issues like global warming, the health care system, the war and the economy, which all greatly affect their future,’ said Gillie. ‘ ‘ ‘ He said that since this is the group’s first year after a hiatus, their ‘main focus is to encourage discussion and awareness, basically get people involved in the election so they can make informed decisions.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Students might be getting more involved in U.S. politics, but they do not seem to be getting more involved in global issues. Students Taking Action Now: Darfur is an advocacy group on campus that has had trouble getting people interested. ‘ ‘ ‘ Vice President Ann Young said that while the organization always has a large mailing list, the number of students who actually go to meetings is about 10 to 15. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s hard to move people unless they are directly affected,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Young said that she had not seen a surge of interest in the group this year, but she did see a surge in students interested in domestic politics. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sophomore Matt Hatton said that he feels Obama targets students more than McCain. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘He’s younger, so he knows the way to connect with the younger generation,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pat Gillie of the College Libertarians also said that Obama mobilizes students. ‘ ‘ ‘ Because of the important issues on the table this year, ‘A lot of young people are rallying around Barack Obama and are becoming increasingly involved in campaigning,’ he said.