published on 10/29/04

Vassar Democrats make effort to see different viewpoints

Sarah DeFilippe Asst. Features Editor

Is your prime political aim to “kick the Republicans out of the White House”? Think John Kerry has all the right stuff? Have a “George W. Bush Stupid Phrases” Daily Calendar? Obviously, the place you need to be seen is at Vassar Democrats. Vassar Democrats, one of the largest organizations on campus with over 400 students on its emailing list, is committed to providing a space for students to explore and voice their Democratic views on all areas of politics, such as Presidential choice, gay/lesbian marriage rights, labor issues, abortion, and other controversial topics.

During this first semester, they have been focusing mainly on the upcoming Presidential elections and voter outreach, by tabling in the College Center in Main, and encouraging voter registration by distributing Democratic memorabilia and handing out absentee ballots. They also went around to the various dorms on campus, encouraging students to register to vote for the upcoming elections.

According to Vassar Democrat Secretary Kelly Peterson ’07, the group is open to anyone. “We don’t necessarily agree with everything about what the party says word for word of the platform,” said Peterson. “We’re Democrats, and that means if you have a liberal leaning and feel that the party can further your views, by all means, come to the meetings.”

To reach all of the members of the group, the Vassar Dems use the Blackboard system, which help generate attendance at thier meetings which usually include 40 to 60 people at one single meeting. Considering everything the group has invested in the Kerry campaign, what happens if he doesn’t win the Presidency? Peterson laughs, “We’ll mourn for a couple of days since we have a lot riding on the election, but the party will still go on.” To get your political juices flowing, the Vassar Dems will be sponsoring an Election Party on Nov. 2nd in the Students Center at 8 p.m. to watch the election results.

To learn more about the Vassar Dems, check out http://vsa.vassar.edu/~democrats/contact.html.

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