Having registered to vote as an independent in his home state of Texas, Lyon says he "imagines" that he will vote by proxy in the election.

Junior Ben R. Sweetzer, also registered as an independent, says he has seen "posters and stuff" on campus advertising the campaigns.

"[Sen. Richard] Lugar [(R-Ind.)] was here last week," he said. "I had never even heard of him until the day."

Active Core Groups

Despite Dartmouth's apathetic atmosphere, student political activism exists in small pockets. These groups tend to organize around a particular cause, campaign, party or academic department that deals with public policy.

Morey, who is registered in New Hampshire as an independent, is a member of the Rockefeller Student Pollers, an organization run out of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences and Humanities on campus.

"The Rockefeller Student Pollers is a group of about 40 students that helps conduct the WMUR-Dartmouth poll of New Hampshire voters," he says. "We call people on the phone and ask them questions about what they think of the candidates, the issues and the campaign."

Each individual campaign also has student workers who are responsible for recruiting other students on campus.

"We have a strong group of supporters here," says first-year Bradford J. Davis, the student campaign manager for multimillionaire publisher Malcolm S. "Steve" Forbes Jr. "We're trying to get support out,"

Davis has liberally decorated his suite in Richardson Hall, the oldest dormitory in campus, with Forbes paraphernalia, including a brightly-colored poster and Forbes quote hanging from his window.

For the past several weeks, Davis and other Forbes supporters have peppered the campus with campaign signs.

Political Coverage on Campus

In addition to students involved directly in campaigns, other Dartmouth students have taken an interest in the political process as journalists who cover the campaign and its effects on the school community.

Senior Sabrina M. Serrentino, for instance, works around the clock as the producer of the Dartmouth Election Network, which she says consists of 200 student volunteers.

"We're the only student commercial radio station in the country that puts together election coverage for the New Hampshire primary," she says. "We're also the largest election night network coverage."