Campus Political Clubs Lead Up to Presidential Elections on November 8: Clinton vs. Trump
With less than a week to go until Election Day, campus political clubs and various student organizations have been participating in the political process by fostering discussion, helping students campaign for candidates and community members register to vote.
The Democratic Club has been focused on campaigning for Democratic candidates up and down the ticket, ranging from Hillary Clinton to local state Senate candidates. “Dem Club is in full spin getting ready for the upcoming election!” co-head upper Menat Bahnasy said.
The club focuses on taking specific action to produce votes for Democratic candidates. Rather than simply hosting discussions or advocating for Democratic policies in conversations on campus, the club seeks to take part in strategies employed by campaigns. “Dem Club demonstrates our support for our candidates by putting in a lot of work to the campaigns and through specific actions,” co-head and senior Charis Edwards said.
The club and its members have been phone banking and canvassing in conjunction with the local Clinton campaign office throughout the fall, and intend to do so through election day. Their ultimate goal is to improve visibility for all Democratic candidates. “We try our best to get our candidates’ names, all the way down the ticket, known,” Bahnasy said. Club adviser Jackie Weatherspoon noted the power of canvassing and phone-banking. “It takes less than 10 seconds to engage the public,” she said.
While the club also creates opportunity for discussion on political topics by hosting debate watch parties, during election season the members divert their attention away from the typical discussion meetings to working primarily on electing Democratic candidates. “While we value discussion, when the opportunity presents itself, we focus on doing the work to get our ticket elected,” Edwards said.
“We try our best to get our candidates’ names, all the way down the ticket, known."
In addition, the Democratic Club has provided transportation for members of the Exeter community to attend Democratic events around the Seacoast area, including rallies for Hillary Clinton and dinners for New Hampshire and Seacoast area Democrats. Events such as those serve to rally students behind the Democratic cause. “We hope that all these experiences that the students have had this year will get them excited to want to really support the Democrats,” Weatherspoon said.
She added that in activities the Democratic Club has been hosting in the past term, the club hopes to encourage its members to find candidates they can get behind, and to participate in the political process to get them elected. “It’s about students getting involved and finding a candidate that they are passionate about,” Weatherspoon said.
The Republican Club, on the other hand, has continued to keep its focus on fostering discussion rather than campaigning for Republican candidates. The club has continued to host its regular dinner discussions, and has not been involved with any phone-banking or canvassing. Their only election specific activity has been to co-host debate watching parties with the Democratic Club.
Senior Alec Howe, a co-head of the club, explained that the club doesn’t participate in campaign activities as a group, and has a strict policy against endorsing any candidates. The club’s leadership felt that doing so would alienate members of campus. “[Endorsing a candidate could] reduce the intellectual vitality of our conversations and damage our club’s reputation as a place where Exonians of all political backgrounds can meet to engage in respectful dialogue,” Howe said.
Other political projects are currently in the works. The Exeter Political Union is working on hosting a mock election, and is planning on disseminating information on voter registration. The Democratic Club is trying to host a voter registration booth on campus, open to those affiliated with all parties. If the club is unable to put together a booth, they plan on sending busses to polls on Election Day, taking advantage of New Hampshire’s same day registration.
In addition, the Democratic Club will be hosting its annual “Dem Club Fives” to encourage voters on Election Day. Any student will be able to join the Democratic Club as they deliver reminders on voting to area residents early that morning.
Bahnasy highlighted the event as her favorite of the year, as she felt that it allowed her to have a direct impact on the election. “It’s so enjoyable and thrilling to know you can make a difference in the outcome of the presidential election,” she said.
Two candidates in New Hampshire races are also connected closely to the Academy community. Governor Maggie Hassan, who is the wife of former PEA Principal Tom Hassan, is running for one of New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate seats. And Alexis Simpson, who is married to religion instructor Tom Simpson, is running for New Hampshire’s state senate in District 23. The Democratic Club is campaigning for both, and both and running as Democratic Party candidates.