Apathy may represent the mood of the American voter toward the 1956 Presidential election, but certainly not that of Harvard University. Political organizations at the College and the Law School have shown an election-year variety of vitality in campaigning for local and national candidates on both tickets. Even Radcliffe has experienced a minor form of political awakening.

While the distaff politicos may simply be undergoing the sort of activity which blossoms every leap year and fades after election day, their Harvard cohorts are mainly engaged in building permanent organizations out of the seeds of election year enthusiasm. Of more than 2000 members of various political groups in the University, something more than half are enrolled in well-established clubs. The others are members of the Students for Stevenson, or the Students for Eisenhower--both temporary organizations.

Varied Motives

Many students, of course, do not participate in political clubs simply because the are inspired. Some may do it from expediency--a feeling that they can profit later in life by being associated with politics; others may wish to learn from contact with democratic (or possibly undemocratic) procedures. Certainly the wish to be a big frog, even in big pond like Harvard, motivates some to seek control of a club. Whatever the underlying urges are however, they are obviously awakening many young men and women to the political facts of our day.

Even those who simply wear a campaign button are subjected to political discussions in their dining halls and are forced to acquaint themselves with today's problems in order to keep up with the opposition. The enthusiasts, the workers, are brought into even closer touch with the issues and with other people through their work in a political club. The value of doorbell inging, for instance, should not be underestimated as an educational experience. The party worker, and particularly the college student, learn more about human relations in a night of trying to force propaganda on potential voters, than they could in any course in political or social behaviour.

Cambridge Campaign

The students for Stevenson have been perhaps the most active of the clubs this term. Although the hard core of Democratic workers has been drawn from already established groups, the Students for Stevenson, with a membership of 1,000--at 25 cents a head--has proved to be the moving force behind Democratic activity in Cambridge. Theodore L. Kesselman 3L, president of the group, first co-ordinated his efforts with those of the Cambridge Stevenson-Kefauver Volunteers in a drive to register Democratic voters in Cambridge. He then obtained the co-operation of the Harvard Young Democratic Club, the Harvard Liberal Union, and the Law School Young Democrats for the registration drive and later activities.

As a result of their joint efforts, the clubs have sold over 600 silver shoes at $1.00 apiece, helped in the student drive that raised $2,100 in downtown Boston on Dollars for Democrats Day, provided workers for the Cambridge fund-raising effort in which $3,500 was collected, and are at present working in 12 Cambridge precincts urging Democratic voters to go to the polls. Plans for meeting Adlai Stevenson, when he arrives in Boston October 28, have not yet been completely worked out. Final election day organization is not yet completely crystallized either, but present plans call for an all-day rotation of workers at various Cambridge polling places and a round of victory parties that night.

Optimistic Democrat

Commenting on the chances for Stevenson's success, Kesselman said, "I am quite sure that our efforts this year in Cambridge will give Governor Stevenson an even greater majority here than in 1952. The enthusiasm of the workers has far surpassed our most optimistic estimates."

The Law School Young Democratic Club, headed by Herbert Gleason 2L, has worked with the other Democratic clubs in the main activities, but has also sponsored projects outside of its major obligations. Workers have campaigned in Lexington for the national ticket and for Jimmy O'Dea, a candidate for district attorney and presently Democratic whip of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Other groups from the Law School club, whose membership is over 200, have done canvassing and research for Jackson J. Holtz, Democratic challenger for the seat in the United States House now occupied by Lawrence Curtis.

Gleason's prototype in the College is William Cotter '58, president of the Harvard Young Democratic Club. The HYDC, having pooled its membership list with that of the HLU and the Students for Stevenson, has been doing much the same canvassing and pre-registration work in Cambridge as the other Democratic clubs. Its membership, now nearly 200, has also contributed to the Holtz campaign in Brighton, Brookline, and Newton. Aside from door-to-door canvassing, some workers participated in an opinion poll of Tenth District voters, to determine what issues Holtz might use to best advantage in his campaign there. The poll, prepared by Dr. Ithiel Pool, an MIT professor, is similar to the one used in California to permit Adlai Stevenson to exploit the most significant problems in his primary fight with Senator Estes Kefauver.

Perhaps, the most important contribution which the new executive board has made to political work in the college, is the publication of a mimeographed newspaper entitled The Democratic Review. The paper, which is distributed to every room in the college is the HYDC's hope to balance the effect of the Harvard Times-Republican. As the editorial board becomes more experienced, it plans to develop the paper into more of a vehicle for political commentary with less emphasis on straight news writing.

The Liberals

There is, however, another permanent political club which is consistently Democratic in its sentiment, the Harvard Liberal Union, the Harvard branch of the Students for Democratic Action. The group has cooperated in pooling its membership list, but has concentrated its main efforts on the candidacy of Jimmy O'Dea. Morris Goldings '57, former president and now Political Action Chairman, reported that the work of a small group of HLUers before the September Democratic primary was invaluable in gaining the nomination for O'Dea. O'Dea, a resident of Lowell carried that city with 25,000 votes, but could not have won with-the few extra Cambridge votes. The success of the Cambridge drive is in large measure attributable to the small group of HLUers who campaigned in the area for weeks before the fall term began.