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DU’s College Democrats met on Sept. 20 to discuss their upcoming plans for organization and mobilization of the Obama re-election campaign on the DU campus.
Members discussed ideas for student involvement as well as their current issues, concerns and interests in the political world.
Interestingly, a majority of the group’s participants weren’t old enough to vote for Obama during the last election.
“Young people are among the most excited groups to be able to vote for President Obama this time around because a lot of them couldn’t last time,” said Emily Dulcan, the press secretary for Organizing for America (OFA). “Communicating with people in your classes, in your dorms … you’re constantly interacting with a wide variety of people, so it’s easy to then spread that message out among the folks on campus.”
One of the most important issues addressed at the meeting was the necessity to prevent political apathy and to engage students in the upcoming presidential election in 2012.
Mobilizing college campuses is extremely critical to the campaign,” said Dulcan. “Reaching out to young people is one of the most important things that we can do between now and Election Day 2012.”
Among other things, the Dems look to promote Obama through personal conversations, at booths during DU events and by posting promotional material across DU.
“Campuses provide a lot of really great opportunities for organizing,” said Dulcan. “It’s a regular population that’s coming through consistently, so it’s easy to start building relationships with people and really taking the time to explain the President’s accomplishments.”
President Kate Roberts and Vice President Trevor Fifer are the leaders of DU Dems.
The group recently received its charter to become a member of the official student branch of the DNC, the College Democrats of America.
Roberts stated that the DU Dems maintain a good relationship with the DU Republicans.They even go as far as to run bipartisan voter registration drives together.
Both groups, she said, look to maintain their common interest towards preventing political apathy.
“I think that a lot of people don’t realize just how little they know [about politics,]” said freshman Quinn Martindale-George. “While I support Obama, I will also say that if a college Republican came up to me and said, ‘I think this,’ then I would say, ‘Well, good, I’m glad that you’re actually involved.'”
Martindale-George also emphasized the importance of political knowledge.
“Democracy is based off the knowledge of everyone and on their understanding,” he said. “If I can help increase people’s liking of politics – just a little bit – I think that we can help end some of the argumentation that goes on in Congress right now.”
