ByGeorge!
November 2008

Political Activism Permeates Campus


GW Democrats and Republicans gathered together in the Marvin Center Continental Ballroom to watch the first presidential debate Sept. 26.

GW students are consistently ranked among the most politically active in the country for a reason, and it’s apparent this election season.

“If anyone should be concerned about the future, it’s a college student,” says Brand Kroeger, chairman of the GW College Republicans. “It’s important we have our voices heard in this election.”

Kroeger says his organization has been canvassing for Sen. John McCain (R–Ariz.) in Virginia since the start of the school year and in Pennsylvania and Ohio during October. To drum up support on campus, GW College Republicans held “NObama” barbeques in Kogan Plaza and hosted former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) on Oct. 20.

Its counterpart, GW College Democrats, has been equally engaged. According to College Democrats Communications Director Matt Ingoglia, his organization has stepped up campaign efforts for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), spending Saturday mornings knocking on doors in northern Virginia and traveling to Columbus, Ohio, in October to canvass its neighborhoods. GW College Democrats have dubbed the week leading up to the election “Countdown to Change Week” and organized a number of events, including a panel titled “What’s at Stake in 2008” and heightened its door-to-door outreach in Virginia.

“Being actively involved in a political organization is the most important thing a student can do on campus, especially at this critical historical juncture,” says Ingoglia. “We want to give students the means to get involved and play their part so when their kids ask them what they did for the 2008 elections, they can say they were directly involved.”

To ensure that GW students don’t remain on the sidelines this historic election year, the Student Association has registered an estimated 1,200 new voters through a campus-wide drive titled Student VOTES. “They brought laptops to all the major student events this fall, allowing students to register to vote on the spot,” says Tim Miller, executive director of the Student Activities Center. “The Student Association’s goal is to get every single GW student to vote in the presidential election.”

GW voters also got a trial run on Oct. 15 when the University held a campus-wide online mock election open to all GWorld cardholders—complete with campaigning on Kogan Plaza and an election night CNN-style results extravaganza. “We treated it as an actual election night, with precincts reporting and projected maps changing colors as the votes come in,” says Miller.

Of the more than 900 votes cast, the Obama/Biden ticket received 78 percent, while McCain/Palin received 18 percent. Mock election sponsors included GW’s Program Board, the Student Association, GW Votes, GW College Democrats, GW College Republicans, GW Class Council, Mount Vernon Campus Life, and the Greek Alliance.

At last count, 45 student organizations on campus identify themselves as political in nature, and Miller says that number is rising. What’s more, over 500 political aficionados literally live politics in Thurston Hall’s interdisciplinary politics and public policy theme house for freshmen. “They live together on the same floors at Thurston and participate collectively in politically oriented events, like presidential debate watching parties and field trips around Washington that engage them in conversations about the political process,” says Andrew Goretsky, director of House Life at GW Housing Programs. “Many of the programs are student driven, helping participants become involved, responsible members of the community.”

Students interested in delving deeply into specific political themes are encouraged to create Living and Learning Cohorts (LLCs) in the residence halls. “This year, 24 sophomores formed an LLC focusing on political satire, and in recent years, we’ve had LLCs focusing on topics ranging from ‘The West Wing’ to ‘Harry Potter for President,’” says Goretsky. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this year’s presidential campaign inspires more students to apply to form LLCs.”

GW students will celebrate Election Day as a community with campus-wide results parties sponsored by the College Democrats and Republicans. Once the results are in, the University shifts its focus to Inauguration Day festivities, such as the GW Inaugural Ball, to be held once again in the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

The University could also have a float in the Inaugural Parade for the first time since President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1949 inauguration. The GW Student Association is submitting a float design to the Inaugural Parade Committee for its approval.

Only institutions chartered by Congress can enter floats in the parade, which means GW and American University are the only eligible universities in the nation, explains GW senior Charlie Burgoyne, Student Association executive director of programming and activities. Burgoyne worked with Professors Stephen Pothier and Roger Cortesi of GW’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Ceramics Turker Ozdogan to draft a design of a 8.5-foot-wide, 34-foot-long float.

If the float application is accepted, Burgoyne hopes to involve as many students in the project as possible. “My goal is to have each school represented by a design on the float,” he says. “I hope to have students participate in every way so we can to get this campus excited and united.”
It’s just one of the many opportunities GW students have by virtue of the University’s location at the epicenter of political action, says Miller. “It’s truly a unique experience for our students to be immersed in this history-making election.”

 


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