With the presidential election only 47 days away, student political groups at the University are employing various strategies to mobilize student voters.
College Republicans Chair Ali Ahmad said that as the presidential election draws closer, the organization will table on the Lawn in order to distribute information, including a packet on the presidential agenda for America. The College Republicans also plan to set up a dorm captain system to help distribute absentee ballots for all 50 states.
The University Democrats already have begun tabling the Lawn in an effort to register students to vote.
The group has been concentrating not only on registering voters, but also on campaigning "do's" and "don'ts" for students interested in canvassing and phone banking.
"Everyone is interested in different things," University Democrats Vice President Sam Silverberg said of campaigning tactics.
At a meeting last night, Silverberg advised students who were interested in campaigning to be polite and stick to what they know. Students should stay energized and try to be relaxed as well, she added.
The campaigning advice was intended to give students "the tools to be confidant and comfortable in the field," Silverberg said.
The College Republicans and the University Democrats plan to battle out the presidential platforms in a public debate between Ahmad and Gold in the next several weeks.
Other student groups also are gearing up for the election.
Katie Cristol, president and co-founder of Cavs for Kerry, is planning a three-day trip in October to West Virginia, which is identified as a battleground state in the upcoming election.
"Your peers are the most impressionable," Cristol said to members of the University Democrats. "Don't feel like you have to be an expert to talk about Kerry."
Nonpartisan student organizations also are making efforts to mobilize young voters.
Paige Gottheim, secretary of Wahoo Informational Services for Electorate, a monthly publication which is expected to make its debut in two weeks, has already helped set up tables on the Lawn to register student voters and distribute absentee ballots.
"Our purpose is to encourage University students to make informed political decisions and be involved in political life," Gottheim said.
With Election Day drawing nearer, voter registration efforts seem to be paying off.
Third-year College student Zaki Robbins already has sent in an absentee ballot to his home town of Denver, Colo.
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