Students' chances to see campaign shape their opinions of candidates

As Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) celebrates his primary wins today and the Democratic primaries continue to move full steam ahead, some Tufts students had a chance to have an in-depth look into the primary process last week in New Hampshire.

"It's a great time," said Dean of the Colleges Jim Glaser, who organized a day trip to New Hampshire on Jan. 24 with his class ". "And it supplements what we talk about in the classroom in a most vivid way."

In addition to providing them with insight into the campaign experience and the political process, observation of campaign activities can play an essential part in shaping students' opinions of candidates that they previously saw as indistinguishable.

"This type of exposure is especially important for students who are still making decisions about which candidate to support," said sophomore and political science major Ajaita Shah, who went on Glaser's trip to New Hampshire.

Seeing three of the Democratic candidates in person -- Kerry, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) -- helped the students to solidify their personal preferences.

"I knew that they had a lot of similar views, but seeing how they present themselves allows you to differentiate between candidates," Shah said. "It was interesting to see their rhetoric and how they represent themselves."

"On a trip like this, you really can convey what it's like for candidates and for regular folks encountering the campaigns," Glaser said.

Therese Corsello attended the New Hampshire trip with the group of Tufts students. She thought that it was beneficial to see them in person, because she felt that hearing speeches firsthand made a much greater impact than simply seeing them on TV, giving voters a chance to see how the candidates involve the crowd.

"Seeing them in person specifically influenced who I support," Therese said. "All of the candidates [Kerry, Edwards, and Lieberman] presented themselves well and in very different ways.

Corsello thought that Edwards and Lieberman were both very mainstream. But she believes that seeing them in person gave her a much better read on who they are.

Kerry, who the group saw at a hockey game in Manchester, was the most impressive for Corsello.

"Kerry's approach was very creative," she said. "Anyone can get up and recite the major issues, but Kerry's creativity made a greater impact on me. It definitely reaffirmed my support for him."

Senior Adam Blickstein, president of the Tufts Democrats, also encourages student involvement in political campaigns, in part as a way for students to find out firsthand which candidate has views that best match their own.

"One of our primary goals as a group is to involve as many people in as many campaigns as possible," Blickstein said. "We put students in contact with the candidates and encourage volunteering." Approximately 20 members of the Tufts Democrats are involved in specific candidates' campaigns.

Another main goal of the Tufts Democrats is to increase the voter registration among college students. "We want students to vote, so we are focusing on that as well as the promotion of candidates," Blickstein said. "We have about six student representatives from other campaigns who are working at Tufts to further student involvement."

Once students have determined which candidate best represents them, they are able to devote themselves without reservations to that candidate's campaign. Blickstein did just that, and spent the summer working for Kerry's campaign.

Another student who became involved in the campaign is freshman Luke Shulman took part in the Edwards campaign, although he is not affiliated with the Tufts Democrats.

Shulman spent his winter break working for the Edwards campaign in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. "I put in 14-hour days with students from all over the country," Shulman said, adding that "it was a tremendous experience -- I learned a lot."

The students who went to New Hampshire with Glaser's class began their trip with a tour of CNN's campaign headquarters. They then watched Kerry compete in a contest very different from the primary: a Manchester hockey game with both local and national players. From there, students attended a town meeting to watch Edwards speak. Finally, they saw Lieberman speak at a town meeting in Nashua.

Approximately 70 students -- 40 from Tufts and 30 from Northeastern -- took part in the trip to New Hampshire, which Glaser has also offered during the past three presidential election cycles.

In the 1996 election year, Glaser's students visited the Steve Forbes, Pat Buchanan, and Bob Dole Republican campaigns. In 2000, his students attended the Democrat Bill Bradley, and Republicans George W. Bush, and John McCain events. This year, the students visited the Kerry, Edwards, and Lieberman campaigns and took a tour of CNN.

According to Glaser, the trip is unpartisan. Its main goal is to directly expose students to the campaigns -- whether Republican or Democratic.

Such positive accounts of the experience are common, Glaser said, adding that several students who went to New Hampshire with him in 2000 asked to go again this year.

"It was one of the most memorable things they did at Tufts," Glaser said. "I have great memories and great stories to tell from these trips."