2008 Woodie Awards
Pupils promote political pundits, plans
Paige Gabriel
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
|
According to Scott Stuart, a Maryville, Tenn. junior and chairman of the College Republicans, the College Republicans are in the process of organizing door-to-door activities and flier distributions to spread general information about the primaries and elections.
Margaret Angela Franklin, a Memphis senior and president of the College Democrats, said this primary is different from previous elections because it started earlier than usual.
"Overall our goal is to make the campus more educated about who the potential Republican candidates are," Stuart said.
Both Franklin and Stuart said their clubs are being careful not to favor one candidate in the primary election.
As an alternative to promoting a single candidate, the College Democrats are trying to start campus chapters of Students for Edwards, Students for Hillary and Students for Obama, groups the candidates have created for their campaigns, Franklin said.
According to Stuart, it is not the job of the College Republicans to endorse a particular candidate in the primaries because that can make some members or potential members feel excluded or restricted.
"Although the club doesn't endorse a particular candidate, everyone who comes to the meetings has a candidate that they already support, so that makes everything interesting at meetings," Stuart said.
The College Republicans are deciding on the best way to campaign for their candidate once the primaries are finished, according to Stuart.
Stuart said his club has prior experience campaigning from aiding Bob Corker in his campaign for last year's senate election.
"As the time nears we will get more mobilized, we will get more organized and we will get more excited about helping our candidate with the election," Franklin said. "We are focused on winning the '08 election. The Democrats have taken back Congress so we are on our way there."
Stuart said that his club is currently trying to recruit incoming freshmen. The College Democrats are planning to hold a membership drive at the beginning of the spring semester, according to Franklin.
For more information about the College Republicans, contact Stuart at John-Stuart@utc.edu. For more information about the College Democrats, contact Franklin at Margaret-Franklin@utc.edu.
