Student political groups spring up on campus
By Samantha Pirc, Campus Life writer
April 25, 2007 | 10:25 p.m.
The next presidential election may not be until next November, but campaigning has already begun at Ohio University with two student organizations forming in support of specific presidential candidates.
At a campus with a notoriously strong liberal lean, it comes as no surprise that the groups that have formed are in support of the two current leading Democratic candidates –- Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Ohio University Students for Barack Obama is the brain child of freshmen Andrew Zucker and Danny Cox, the state deputy director and chapter director, respectively. Zucker said that he and Danny talked about the idea and filed official papers in late February.
“I am a huge fan [of Obama] and think he is the best candidate for the job,” Zucker said.
Vice president of the organization Tommy Greene explained that his interest and involvement in the group stemmed from his dislike for the way the country is being run.
“Politics has a bad reputation,” Greene said. “We want people to get excited about Barack Obama and see his is not a slash and burn campaign.”
The group meets regularly on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. in Baker 231 and works to raise awareness for Obama on campus and build some buzz for the "first promising presidential candidate for our generation," according to Zucker. The group's other goals are to register voters, sell discounted Obama merchandise to students and eventually expand to involve community members.
While not yet an official student organization, Ohio University Students for Hillary is getting ready to build awareness for another Democratic presidential candidate.
Zachary Noble and Angela Tombazzi are the leaders of the organization, although both shrugged off the titles of president and vice president.
“I like where [Clinton] stands on many issues,” Noble said of his interest for starting the organization. “She is a more moderate candidate.”
The group is still in the beginning stages of creating goals and coming up with plans on how to create a Clinton buzz; however, they are working on filing paperwork with the university and meet regularly on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Baker 236.
“We want to make people aware of the good things [Clinton] has done and the good things she can do,” Tombazzi said.
Another goal of the Clinton group this quarter is to build a large membership base and find strong leadership for next year, as neither Tombazzi nor Noble will be returning to pick up where they left off.
While the two groups are supporting different candidates, they both agree that any competition between them will be friendly and that it is important for students to be politically active.
“We are first and foremost a democratic family,” Green said of competition between the two groups. “We would rather have people be politically active at all then apathetic.”
Zucker explained that statistically it is important for our generation to vote and to get involved early because there is always an opportunity to make a difference.
“It is our future, we are the next generation to take charge and it is our duty to be engaged,” Noble said of the importance of being active while on campus.
Tombazzi agreed, saying that politics affect people’s everyday lives and that students should at least take action by getting out and voting.
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The first Democratic presidential debate will be held tomorrow, Thursday, April 26 at 7 p.m. on NBC. NBC will also host the first Republican presidential debate next Thursday, May 3, at 7 p.m.