Some have traveled across the country to be part of the Convention
Young people are becoming more involved with this election than ever before, and naturally the Democratic National Convention is no exception to this phenomenon. A great number of college students from schools all over the country came to Denver this week to be counted among the 26,000 volunteers at the DNC.
Rebecca Schwartz, a 19-year-old sophomore, and Jennie Vader, a 20-year-old junior, both attend Colorado College and are gaining school credit by volunteering at the DNC. They are both working security detail for the front doors of the Pepsi Center.
“I’m having a really good time,” Schwartz said. “It’s kind of crazy during the day but everyone seems really interested in what the speakers have to say.”
Vader also made note of how busy the Convention has been.
“[The Convention] is really energized but it’s really chaotic also,” Vader added.
Mackenzie Brown, a 19-year-old rising sophomore at Occidental College in Los Angeles, is taking a semester off to work on the campaign. She is a bus greeter and unloader, and says that her experience volunteering for the DNC has definitely been a positive one.
“[The Convention] is more energy than I have felt in any space in my entire life,” Brown said.
Many of the volunteers said they were impressed with Hilary Clinton’s speech on Tuesday night.
“I think more than even her personal speaking skills, which are great, she had a lot to say on Obama,” Schwartz said. “I think a lot was riding on her speech.”
Brown said she thought Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana gave the most impressive speech she has seen so far.
“He was a great public speaker, just the way he went about it was really inspiring,” she said.
26-year-old volunteer Constantino Gonzalez came all the way from Escuela Bancaria y Comercial in Mexico, where he studies as a business major.
“It is tiring but it’s worth it,” Gonzalez said. “In spite of being so hard, it’s very cool.”
Gonzalez said what surprised him the most about volunteering for the Convention were the many enthusiastic young volunteers.
“I thought that the youth wouldn’t be very involved [with the Convention], but I saw a lot of people my age very interested in getting involved,” Gonzalez said.
Seeing prominent politicians and public speakers has definitely been a plus for the student volunteers.
I’ve seen a lot of people [and] politicians,” said Taylor Foshee, a 19-year-old sophomore at Elon University in North Carolina. “It’s been great to get to know them through our work.”
Many student volunteers said their experience working at DNC has helped them learn new things about the Democratic Party.
“It’s made me view the Democratic Party as more of a party, more unified,” Schwartz said. “The party isn’t all politicians; it’s anyone who considers themselves a Democrat.”
Other students said they appreciated the openness of the Democratic Party.
“What’s stood out to me is the Republicans speaking at the convention,” Brown said. “It shows the openness of the Democratic Party; they’ll let anyone talk who is for Obama.”
If anything, volunteers said they learned a lot about the Democratic Party.
“I feel like I understand [it] more,” Vader said.
Students also said they gained a wider perspective on the Democratic Party.
“I learned a lot more about the inner workings of the party and the theatrics of the convention,” Foshee said. “I definitely have a greater appreciation for the people who put this together.”
Contact CU Independent News Editor Julie Ryan at ryanja@colorado.edu.
