College Dems Play Hard, Score Big this Election

December 3, 2008

Posted: December 3, 2008

By Samantha Silver '10

Mount Holyoke students make an impact wherever they go, whether they are researching turtles in the Galapagos, teaching children English in Malaysia, or meeting with diplomats in Jordan. For the Mount Holyoke College Democrats, the impact they made was right here in the United States as they got caught up in the 2008 campaigning craze, supporting politicians and issues in both local and national campaigns, making sure that all votes and voices would be heard in this year's election--including their own.

"Many people think as an age group [college students] are apathetic," said College Democrats president Jane Flegal '09. With the help of her fellow students, she was determined to prove such critics wrong--and did.

The MHC organization was recently named the winner of a statewide voter registration competition among all Massachusetts College Democrats chapters, and the group won the Battleground State Competition in New Hampshire, the result of sending more students there to campaign (and organizing more phone banks on campus) than any other school in Massachusetts. Mount Holyoke students were presented with a check for $100 and honored at a private dinner with Senator John Kerry and campaign leaders at the Massachusetts Democratic Party headquarters in Boston.

"How lucky am I to work with the women at Mount Holyoke? I can't say enough about the people I worked with who are so committed to positive social change," said Flegal. "We are a force to be reckoned with."

President-elect Barack Obama attributed his recent campaign victory to the enormous grassroots effort by supporters across the country, especially college students. The MHC Democrats organized a voter registration drive and a Dorm Storm, with volunteers going door-to-door in residential halls to get students to register to vote or apply for an absentee ballot. As a result, they processed more than 250 absentee ballot requests and helped 90 students register to vote, earning them the state's college award.

With swing states New Hampshire and Pennsylvania within driving distance--not to mention western Massachusetts and Boston--the MHC group campaigned from late September through November 4, actively canvassing, making phone calls, knocking on doors, and meeting with campaign coordinators and College Democrats from other schools. On average, about 20 MHC volunteers took part in each campaign trip, putting power in numbers for the Democrats in this election.

"Once people got to see the [campaigning experience], they got really excited about it and wanted to get involved," said Flegal. Students in all class years, from a variety of backgrounds and red states and blue states alike, made weekend trips to participate in seven campaigns--all successful--including those of Obama, U.S. Senate candidates Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and John Kerry (MA), congressional candidates Paul Hodes (NH) and Carol Shea-Porter (NH), and Massachusetts state representative candidates Brian Ashe and Geraldo Alicea. Flegal worked closely with the organization's campaigns coordinator Brigid Hurn-Maloney '11 to find opportunities for students to get involved and to organize transportation. The trips were funded by a T-shirt sale and grants from the SGA (Student Government Association).

Roger Fisk, the state coordinator for the Obama campaign, called Flegal personally to thank the Mount Holyoke College Democrats for their help and support.

"To be honest, I'd been pretty cynical about politics until this semester. I didn't anticipate falling in love with the campaigns the way that I did," Flegal said. "I would love nothing more than to be a part of any of the campaign teams I worked with as they continue their hard work [to bring about change].

"I learned that it is, in fact, possible to effect positive social change through political work, and achieving this is now my primary ambition for the next few years."

Related Links:

Mount Holyoke College Democrats

Student Government Assocation

Permanent link to this story: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/stories/5677532