Friday, November 1, 1996

PROFILE:

Students involved in grass-roots campaigns educate peers, help 'get the vote out'By Julie Brighton

Daily Bruin Contributor

Amid the confusion many students face in voting in this year's local and presidential races, more than a few Bruins have gone beyond their civic duties to make a difference in the campaigns. Their motivations for becoming involved are varied but on campus, major emphasis is placed on "getting out the vote."

As polls anticipate fewer participants each consecutive election, grass-roots attempts to register and educate voters are top priorities for Democrats and Republicans alike.

Fourth-year political science student and Bruin Democrats member Darrin Hurwitz explained that the main focus of his group's activities has been encouraging students to vote by running a campus registration campaign, walking precincts and telephone banking.

Hurwitz estimates that Bruin Democrats have registered over 1,000 voters already as part of the "California Coordinated Campaign," of which Hurwitz is political outreach director.

"We want to educate students on the issues that are going to affect them," Hurwitz said. "By becoming involved with the campaign, college students can work pro-actively to elect candidates that represent issues of importance to younger voters, especially education."

Hurwitz himself became involved with politics in the 1994 elections while working on the Kathleen Brown campaign, but he feels that the 1996 race is exciting because "this year, UCLA students are excited about the issues and the candidates, and it is an exhilarating experience to educate students on issues that affect them ..."

"In the past," Hurwitz added, "politicians have ignored younger voters because they didn't see them as a powerful constituency. When we get involved in the process, however, we send a powerful message that we are willing to do more than simply complain."

Patrick Strader, also a third-year political science student, became involved with the Dole campaign last winter while interning for California Gov. Pete Wilson in Washington, D.C. Chosen to accompany the Dole entourage to the Charleston, S.C. primary, Strader found that in addition to Southern hospitality, the "people were very surprised that young people were motivated to get out and campaign."

"I was surprised to find that the issues that seemed so important in D.C. weren't necessarily important to voters in small Southern towns," Strader said, recalling his shock when he learned that the poll in the town of Elgin, S.C. expected between 20 and 30 residents to vote. The big issue? Rapid growth of the town was causing stress to the septic system and residents feared having to invest in new indoor plumbing.

Sophomore political science student Sameer Acharya also got behind the scenes this summer as an intern at Clinton/Gore national headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"I was most surprised by the level of work done by interns," said Acharya. "We did some grunt work but also got some hands-on experience with tasks from creating press memos to research to helping create position papers."

Although considering a return to D.C., Acharya plans to work in policy and government rather than in politics.

Bruin Republicans have employed similar efforts, setting up camp on Bruin Walk to educate and encourage student voters.

In addition to helping coordinate these activities, third-year political science student Jason Steele also spends "pretty much every free minute" working at the Dole/Kemp headquarters in Burbank as the Los Angeles County youth coordinator.

Steele appeared to sum of the feeling of all students when he explained his reasons for volunteering.

"You get the feeling that what you do matters and that is a powerful motivator for continued involvement," Steele said.