Students learned how to caucus while waiting for a delayed Whitaker
Students gathered in the West Ballroom of the UMC on Monday afternoon to learn how to caucus and to see Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker speak on behalf of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.
Whitaker’s flight was delayed, pushing his arrival to end of the event rather than the scheduled beginning.
Ally Carragher, 23, the Obama youth vote director for Boulder, began the presentation with a list of the mandatory criteria to take part in the caucus Tuesday night. Carragher said a person must be 18 years old and be registered to vote as either a Democrat or a Republican.
In an audience of roughly 150 people, only four raised their hands when asked if they had ever attended a caucus.
To make it easier to understand, Carragher invited the crowd to caucus for their favorite Forest Whitaker films. People could choose from “The Last King of Scotland,” “Phone Booth,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” or “The Crying Game.”
“I bet this is how they decide who wins the Academy Awards,” Carragher said.
Volunteers went on to explain how the four choices are ultimately narrowed down to two after debate among the groups. In the mock caucus, the audience eliminated both “Phone Booth” and “The Crying Game.”
Carragher described how delegates are divided between groups, and said she would recommend that college students campaign.
“They’re looking for a diverse group of people,” she said. “They don’t want the same old people caucusing. They want fresh blood.”
The volunteer presentation ended with still no sign of Whitaker. Volunteers took questions, and attempted to keep the crowd’s energy high with chants of, “Fired up! Ready to go!”
Whitaker arrived at 3:07 p.m., more than an hour after his scheduled arrival. He greeted the crowd with a smile and laughter.
“Energy here is high,” he said. “This moment in history, this moment in time, I get to be involved with.”
Whitaker spoke primarily regarding his support for Obama. He said that having the opportunity to spend time with the candidate gave him hope.
“He’s only saying what he feels and what he thinks,” Whitaker said. “He’s just talking from his heart. Barack has the vision to pull us all together, so we can all live together with the promise of tomorrow.”
Though Whitaker talked for only 20 minutes, many people said it was worth the wait.
“There was caucus training on Sunday that I missed,” said Alison Dozier, 33, an adolescent counselor. “The combination of Forest being here and a training session was great.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Carolyn Michaels at carolyn.michaels@colorado.edu
