Massachusetts Senator John Kerry will arrive on campus this afternoon to lead a last-minute rally in support of Vice President Gore and Senator Joe Lieberman's bid for the White House. On the eve of the 2000 election, this event, which is co-sponsored by the Tufts Democrats and the College Democrats of Massachusetts, will include students from Tufts, Harvard, UMass, and other Boston-area schools.
"Students care about this election," said Tufts Democrats President Greg Propper. "They care about the future of the country and they value our political system. We're hosting this rally to show people that we support Al Gore."
Event organizers expect that the rally, which will take place in Jackson Gym at 4:30 p.m., will attract at least 400 students. It is also rumored that Congressman Mike Capuano may attend.
Kerry, whom campaign officials have acknowledged was high on Gore's list of possible running mates, is a vocal Democrat and a vehement supporter of the vice president. As a three-term senator, Kerry has worked for a number of causes, including minimum wage hikes, increasing education funding, and creating stricter environmental policies.
In addition, "he has fought to balance the budget responsibly, create a regulatory environment friendly to small businesses, and prepare the United States to meet new demands of international economics competition," according to his website.
Kerry was born in 1943, graduated from Yale University in 1966, and then enlisted in the Navy. After serving in Vietnam, and receiving numerous awards and decorations, he became an active leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and a co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America.
He graduated from the Boston College Law School in 1976, then worked as an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1982 and elected to the US Senate in 1984.
