A new section of the DU Presidential Debate website, which lists volunteer opportunities for the week of the Oct. 3 debates, went live yesterday at noon.
The site received 45 new applicants in the first two hours after its release yesterday, according to Carl Johnson, director of Campus activities. The site will continue to be updated until the Oct. 3 event, with more opportunities being posted as they arise.
The webpage, which can be accessed by clicking the “Volunteer” link at debate2012.du.edu/getinvolved, listed 12 volunteer opportunities for students upon its release yesterday, beginning Sept. 28 and ending on Oct. 3, the day of the event.
The initial listings included two types of positions, both of which are available for any of the listed days from Sept. 28 to Oct. 3. One opportunity is for media runners, who will provide expertise about the campus and run errands for the media outlets that will be on campus.
“This [the media runner position] could involve guiding the media around campus, being present for interviews, standing in crowds during live broadcasts, or helping with managerial work for the media personnel,” said Stuart Portman, chair of the Volunteer Coordination Subcommittee of the Presidential Debate Student Committee.
The specific media outlets will not be confirmed until closer to the event, said Portman.
The other opportunity, which is expected to draw more than 350 volunteers, is for the Commission on Presidential Debate (CPD) – the group produces and runs quality-control for the Presidential Debate broadcast – pre-event activities.
In order to apply, students can scroll to the opportunity of interest and click on “Sign up to be a volunteer.” This link redirects users to a page with the application form that requires students provide personal information, such as email address and Student ID number, and compose a brief paragraph about what they hope to gain from volunteering.
There is an option to list the title of a specific volunteer opportunity that the applicant is interested, or type in “general” to receive offers for many types of positions.
Both listed opportunities may require training, although specifics have not yet been decided. In addition to training, some of the volunteer positions may require that students provide a social security number or submit to background checks.
“We’ll have a couple more visits from CPD in the next few months, so we should have more details soon,” said Johnson. “Especially if you are volunteering at an event around the Ritchie Center, they [CPD] may tell us that you need Secret Service clearance.”
According to Portman, the method of selecting volunteers for the events varies by event type.
“Many events will have their volunteers chosen based on who first submitted the forms, but the media and CPD volunteer opportunities will require a brief reflection on what each individual hopes to accomplish from their volunteering in this unique event at DU,” said Portman.
Despite the stringent selection process, Portman is committed to helping as many students as possible volunteer for the debate-related events, he said.
“Volunteering is an essential part of the DU culture, especially as it is one way for DU students to demonstrate their dedication to the public good,” said Portman. “Volunteering, be it for a DU event or with a high-profile media personality, will make each student own a stake in this debate, which will go down as the largest event in DU history thus far.”
According to the website, opportunities are only available to DU students, faculty, alumni and staff, but students will be given priority status for certain events, said Calbert.
“If it’s an alumni event, and they request alumni volunteers, then they will get ‘priority’ in that instance, although it’s not really the way we see it,” said Johnson. “But for most of the events sponsored by Student Life, especially campus-wide events, we hope to keep the process close to first-come, first-serve and get a representative cross-section of campus.”
There is a separate “community” page, which provides contact information for community members to get involved and information about security, traffic and parking.
All positions are currently volunteer positions, not paid, although the possibility of class credit for work has not been ruled out, said Calbert.
According to Sam Gerk, Presidential Debate 2012 Student Committee co-chair and President of Undergraduate Student Government (USG), the goal of the web page is to centralize resources about the debate for students, faculty, staff and community members.
“We hope that it [the volunteer webpage] is a consolidated location that all information regarding the debate can be found through, as well as a central hub for all student resources regarding the debate,” said Gerk.
According to Johnson, the Student Committee initially set up a separate volunteer website through orgsyc, to debut at the start of spring quarter, but delayed the release three weeks to consolidate all debate-related information into a single source at debate2012.du.edu.
The Presidential Debate 2012 Student Committee celebrated the premiere of the site by driving around campus in a patriotic golf cart, handing out over 500 cupcakes provided by Student Life and flyers advertising the site, beginning 11 a.m. yesterday.
