Both former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry have taken grassroots volunteer organizations to the next level with Web sites such as http://www.meetup.com, where potential supporters can meet and organize. UCSD students who support the candidates have risen to the call and slowly begun to campaign for their candidates.
“”We’ve been getting a group of people together who feel strongly about campaigning [for Dean] at UCSD,”” said Jeremy Cogan, principal member of UCSD for Dean and secretary of College Democrats at UCSD. “”Right now it varies, but we’ve had maybe 15 or so people expressing strong interest in taking part in the process, and I think that number is likely to grow as we do more activities.””
Cogan said the organization plans to organize meet-ups and trips to speeches by the candidates.
UCSD for Dean modeled itself after student-run organizations supporting Dean at other universities such as UC Berkeley. Student-run Dean organizations also exist at UCLA and University of Southern California.
Various UCSD supporters for Kerry have also met through http://www.meetup.com, with supporters organizing a rally for Kerry tentatively scheduled for Nov. 18. The rally will include a live call-in from Kerry and a short documentary about Kerry and his campaign.
“”There are local San Diego Kerry meet-ups, and I started attending those and … got in contact with other Kerry supporters in San Diego,”” said UCSD student Mara Lee, who is organizing the rally. “”We’re trying to get this rally together as just an informal invitation for San Diego supporters. We’re targeting self-identified Democrats who haven’t decided which candidate to support. Š just trying to get the word out.””
In the meantime, while President Bush is currently unopposed for the Republican nomination, Republicans on campus have also been active in promoting their views. College Republicans at UCSD organized a rally featuring several Republican senatorial candidates that had to be cancelled due to the fires. Nonetheless, they are preparing for the 2004 elections.
“”We work closely with the San Diego Republican Party and we do a lot of stuff for them,”” said John Altick, event coordinator for College Republicans at UCSD. “”Once election season comes we’ll be working closely for them.””
The College Republicans also campaign by tabling for voter registration on Library Walk.
College Democrats at UCSD, an umbrella group for Democrats at UCSD with ties to both the Dean and Kerry supporters, is also monitoring the primary situation closely. Having contacted Dean, Kerry and Democratic candidate Rev. Al Sharpton, the group plans to hold rallies in the spring, when primary season shifts into high gear.
“”We’ve been researching candidates and deciding which candidate we want to support,”” said Kate Maull, president of College Democrats at UCSD.
However, some students say they remain relatively in the dark about the upcoming primaries.
“”I am not currently as informed as I would like to be,”” Greg Mallis, a Sixth College sophomore said. “”This will be the first election that I will be voting in, so I am very interested in it, and I plan on getting as much information as I can on it. However, the recent political events of California have soured me to the whole process.””
