IYA BAKARE writes:
For one who has never been actively engaged or interested in politics in 25 years (let alone as an adult), I have never seen so many young voters get involved in a presidential election.
I observed and interviewed volunteers Thursday at the Students for Rudy campaign headquarters at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The inside of the office was wrapped in red, white, and blue and covered in Giuliani signs, as if the walls were Christmas presents. Posters, both hand-made and with pictures of the former mayor of New York City, enveloped the office, with a poster from the motion picture Rudy and an Iowa Hawkeyes banner to top it off. Did I mention that all of the volunteers were wearing red, white, and blue Rudy t-shirts?
Perhaps it was because I have not cared to pay such close attention to politics that my neglect slapped me in the face when I saw and spoke with volunteers younger than I.
"I loved politics since I was a little girl because my grandma was always in politics," said Kasondra St. Antoine, a 19-year-old freshman liberal arts major at the University of Iowa. St. Antoine is not only a volunteer, but also chairman of a precinct that includes four dormitories and other housing. "It's awesome to see I'm making a difference."
Jimmy Centers, a 20-year-old junior political science major, is the national co-chairman of Students for Rudy. The chapter started back in September and recruited 465 students, which makes it the largest chapter in the country. Centers said students from all over the country and as far as Virginia came to Iowa to volunteer and participate in Giuliani's campaign.
That includes Nate Griffith, a political science major at Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia. "I came up here because we don't have an opportunity to be active there, and to also be involved in a caucus that really matters," said Griffith, a 21-year-old senior.
I saw students ringing a bell after commitments were made to support Giuliani during their phone-banking. On the flip side, I saw students have those they called hang up on them. Whatever the case, those volunteers knew they had a task at hand and continued to press on as I left the office.
Iya Bakare is a graduate student in journalism from McComb, Mississippi.
Posted by awiens at January 4, 2008 9:32 PM
