Minnesota State University Reporter

Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Election 2008

As election day nears, Minnesota State student organizations are kicking preparations into high gear. Among them are campus student groups supporting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and other state and local Democratic candidates.

Although Students for Barack Obama and College Democrats are different student organizations with varied goals, they both stand avidly behind Obama and share the same mission: to promote voting.

Aaron Lofald, president of College Democrats, said the organization is most focused on encouraging people to vote, regardless of whom they are voting for.

"I have heard from a couple sources that MSU has always lacked in voter turnout and we'd like to change that," he said.

Lofald is a sophomore aviation major who has been involved with College Democrats since last fall. He has also interned at the DFL office.

Lofald said the College Democrats' purpose is to talk about issues pertaining to the Democratic Party and work to spread the values of the party among MSU students.

Sara Storm, an applied sociology and ethnic studies senior, is a member of Students for Barack Obama, which last year started to get people registered to vote and excited about Obama so they would caucus for him.

Storm volunteers to work a table at the Centennial Student Union for the group. Students for Obama frequently sets up tables at the CSU where voter registration forms are available.

"It doesn't matter if they are for Barack or not, we just want to get people to vote," Storm said. "When they are filling out a registration card we get a chance to talk to them about who they are and what issues are important to them."

Although many issues are being highlighted in the 2008 campaigns, certain topics are particularly interesting to college students.

"I think the war in Iraq and the general state of the economy are probably the most important issues to the majority of Democrats in general, including college students," Lofald said. "I feel that McCain would provide four more years of the same thing," he said. "I think a lot of people just want something different, something fresh."

Storm said while Students for Obama focuses on the election in general, student fees and tuition are important topics to college students.

When people approach the group's table they are asked if Obama is their candidate of choice, Storm said. If so, the group asks them to fill out a support card stating they will vote for Obama.

"If they're slated," Storm said, "we ask about the issues that are important to them and let them know where Barack stands on these issues."

Last year during the primaries, College Democrats also tabled to educate students about the importance of caucusing.

"We had more people than we thought stop by and register to vote," Lofald said.

In addition to supporting Obama, College Democrats stands behind Al Franken, Tim Walz and various current state and local Democratic candidates.

Franken, known for his comedic work on Saturday Night Live, his books and his Air America radio show, is running for U.S. Senate.

Walz, a former Mankato West High School educator, represents 1st Congressional District and is running for re-election.

Walz has said working to ensure Minnesota Universities and colleges remain some of the best in the country and that all those who would like to attend college should be able to do so affordably is important.

College Democrats has been working with community political groups to aid them in their goals and support of these Democratic campaigns.

Colin Laughlin, MSU alumnus and deputy finance director of Walz' campaign said Walz is looking forward to working with the MSU College Democrats. Laughlin said the campaign would like to "engage the entire MSU student body and work to elect great Democratic candidates like Congressman Walz and Senator Obama".

Helping the College Democrats get first time voters to the polls for this election is also a main priority for Walz he said.

Students for Barack Obama is being aided by organizers from Minnesota for Change.

"They basically encourage us to make phone calls, go to the dorms, table at the CSU and complete data entry to record information gathered," Storm said.

For those interested in the political process, Laughlin said there are great opportunities at the Tim Walz for U.S. Congress internship program which many MSU students can complete for credit.

"It is a wonderful experience for those looking to get involved or for those who are interested in seeing a campaign up close," said Laughlin, who got his start with the Walz campaign as an intern.

Besides political affiliation and purpose, both Democratic RSO's share a drive for getting people involved and educated in preperation for voting. Storm encourages people to "get educated about where candidates stand on different topics," in preparation for voting.

"Even if you're going to vote for McCain representing the Republican Party, the Green Party or Libertarian Party, just go out and do it," Lofald said. "I think it is very important for college students to see the importance in that. A lot of people may blow it off and say one vote doesn't matter, but it truly does," he said. "When you think about the 2000 election with Bush and Gore, and how close it was, it really showed that, yeah, your individual vote counts."



Nicole Smith is a Reporter staff writer

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