Northwestern’s political organizations are planning their strategies for the 2012 re-election campaigns as President Barack Obama’s re-election efforts officially begin. The Chicago headquarters for Obama’s campaign, which will be based at One Prudential Plaza, opened Monday.
College Democrats are deciding how to best aid his political efforts.
According to College Democrats Treasurer Alysa Cortes, members of the organization felt that in 2008, Obama’s campaign did not make much of an effort to engage students at NU. For this campaign, they want to demonstrate support for his campaign on campus to encourage his office to send resources to NU.
“Once they realize that students were interested in the election, they would send out lower-level campaign volunteers just to get the word out about what his platform is and what he’s done in his first term to show people why he should be re-elected,” the Weinberg freshman said.
Some methods that College Democrats are considering to spread Obama’s message to NU students and the Evanston community are calling voters to explain Obama’s views, going door-to-door and “quarter-sheeting,” or handing out flyers.
College Democrats said they are still uncertain about their final political strategies for Obama’s campaign.
While the College Democrats are deciding how to help Obama as a group, NU’s College Republicans do not have Obama on their list of priorities.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m 99 percent positive that no one in the group is going to help his re-election campaign,” College Republicans President Ali Riegler said.
Because the Republican candidates have not been officially announced, Riegler said, the members of College Republicans have not started to get involved in any campaigns.
“The members of the group are politically active and will be volunteering, making phone calls and doing literature drops,” the Weinberg sophomore said.
Cortes, who volunteered for Obama’s campaign in 2008, said that volunteering for a political campaign can help prevent future regrets.
“I don’t think there’s anything worse than watching someone you believed in lose to somebody you think is going to do a poor job and wishing (you were involved),” she said.
Like Cortes, College Democrats President Josh Noah said he sees volunteering for a political campaign as beneficial for both the country, and on a more individual level, the students themselves.
“It’s a way to help influence the direction of the country,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “The more people (that) participate in the democratic process, the stronger our democracy will be.”
