While most Tufts students are worrying about getting called on during a lecture class, senior Scott Merrick sits among a group of 400 people whose average age is 56.
In 2004, Merrick was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, where he represents the second District of Coos County, New Hampshire. Merrick is now in the middle of his re-election campaign and hopes to secure his seat for another two years.
The primary was held last Tuesday, but Merrick, a Democrat, was uncontested. The New Hampshire general election will take place on Nov. 7.
"I'm feeling really good and confident after getting the primary results back," said Merrick, who roped in 10 percent of registered voters, even when he was running unopposed.
Merrick and three other Democrats will be thrown in with four Republicans in the general election, with the top four candidates earning seats. No polling numbers are available for his race.
When he was elected two years ago, Merrick thought he would finish his term and go no further.
But, things began to change. "Very soon after I started serving my term, I realized it was something I really wanted to continue," Merrick said. "It really is a rush being involved in something like this, standing in front of all these respected people and having a hand in the government."
Still, his decision to shoot for another term was not taken lightly, though his sense of service eventually won out. "I was skeptical because it took me a while to decide, but it's really important to give our generation a voice," he said. "We have really underestimated our ability to initiate change."
At 19 years old in 2004, Merrick was one of the youngest members to fill a seat in New Hampshire's House.
"I had never really thought of running for office until my freshman year at Tufts, when the Coos County [Democratic] Committee asked me to," Merrick said.
The Committee saw potential in Merrick because of his involvement in politics in his high school and community, he said. "I was skeptical, even reluctant at first, considering all my commitments at Tufts, like cross country and track," he said.
The other three elected members in 2004 were all Republicans, as Coos County is a largely conservative area.
"It made me realize that you really must work with people across the aisle if you wish to get things accomplished," Merrick said. "You get used to it, especially since the entire house is, [by] a large majority, Republican."
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is in session from January to June. "While we're in session, I spend upwards of 35 hours a week taking care of my responsibilities to the county," Merrick said. While the house is out of session, his commitment drops to only once or twice a week.
And the work is intense. "As a state legislator, [I'm] responsible for writing literature, writing laws, education funding, and re-writing laws at a state level," Merrick said. "On top of that we also deal with county issues and ordinances, approve budgets set by county commissioners, and deal with local issues."
But experience helps. It's a lot to learn in the first two years, and now that I feel I understand the system, I think I can get a lot more done this time around."
One of his Democratic running-mates is very close to home: Merrick's mother, Evalyn Merrick, who is campaigning for a state seat for the first time.
"I kept encouraging [my mom] to run," Merrick said, after listening to his parents sound off on problems in the area. "I told her, we really need to do something about this, really consider getting involved."
And no policy disagreements threaten to bring down the house yet. "So far we generally have similar views," the younger Merrick laughed.
One of Merrick's goals is education reform. "The New Hampshire system of education is really in need of repair," he said. "The Supreme Court of New Hampshire has just recently voted that the way school funding is handled is unconstitutional."
If re-elected, Merrick hopes to focus more on economic growth, sustainable community, sustainable state, environment, and diversifying economic base. "There was a big paper mill that closed, and it's really having an effect on the economic stability of the county," he said.
