Armed with laptops and cell phones, students crowd into the Coolidge Room of Adams House to phonebank for Presidential nominee Barack Obama and Democratic candidates in other races.
When enthusiastic Harvard Democrats volunteered to call Colorado voters to educate them about Sen. Barack Obama’s policies, they didn’t expect to be greeted by the presidential nominee himself.
But a life-sized cutout of the candidate stood at the entrance for the Harvard College Democrats’ first weekly phonebank of the 2008 election cycle.
Thirty student Democrats volunteered for two hours to elicit support for their presidential candidate and U.S. representative Mark Udall of Colorado.
Udall is a fifth-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives and is competing in the senatorial race against Republican Bob Schaffer.
Manned with their personal cell phones, participants called their “targeted audience” of Colorado voters from a list provided by the Colorado Democratic Party.
The Dems’ phonebank co-captain Benjamin J. Nelson ’11 said that the purpose of the phonebank was to contact Democratic and independent voters in Colorado—a crucial swing state for the presidential election—educate the callers about Obama’s and Udall’s policies, and convince them to vote for their candidates.
“We have made 747 calls tonight,” said Audrey A. White ’10, the Dems’ campaigns director.
The Harvard Republican Club will also be holding weekly phonebanks on Thursdays up until the elections.
About 80 percent of voters, however, immediately hung up on callers, according to phonebank co-captain Eric M. Hanzich ’11. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]
“There was a guy whose first name was Rickybruce,” said volunteer Warren S. Loegering ’12. “I called him and said I wanted to talk with him about the Democratic Party and Obama. ‘Democrats? Good bye!’ was all the he said before hanging up on me.”
The Dems said they will continue to hold phonebanks, which are open to all undergraduates, every Tuesday evening until the Nov. 4 elections. In addition to the phonebanks, the Dems will also be campaigning over the weekends in New Hampshire and hosting a debate with the Republican Club after the second presidential debate in October, according to Dems President Jarret A. Zafran ’09.
“People are very enthusiastic,” White said. “Harvard kids never want to get up early in the weekend mornings, but we had 120 Harvard undergraduates on our morning bus ride to New Hampshire last Sunday.”
But a life-sized cutout of the candidate stood at the entrance for the Harvard College Democrats’ first weekly phonebank of the 2008 election cycle.
Thirty student Democrats volunteered for two hours to elicit support for their presidential candidate and U.S. representative Mark Udall of Colorado.
Udall is a fifth-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives and is competing in the senatorial race against Republican Bob Schaffer.
Manned with their personal cell phones, participants called their “targeted audience” of Colorado voters from a list provided by the Colorado Democratic Party.
The Dems’ phonebank co-captain Benjamin J. Nelson ’11 said that the purpose of the phonebank was to contact Democratic and independent voters in Colorado—a crucial swing state for the presidential election—educate the callers about Obama’s and Udall’s policies, and convince them to vote for their candidates.
“We have made 747 calls tonight,” said Audrey A. White ’10, the Dems’ campaigns director.
The Harvard Republican Club will also be holding weekly phonebanks on Thursdays up until the elections.
About 80 percent of voters, however, immediately hung up on callers, according to phonebank co-captain Eric M. Hanzich ’11. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]
“There was a guy whose first name was Rickybruce,” said volunteer Warren S. Loegering ’12. “I called him and said I wanted to talk with him about the Democratic Party and Obama. ‘Democrats? Good bye!’ was all the he said before hanging up on me.”
The Dems said they will continue to hold phonebanks, which are open to all undergraduates, every Tuesday evening until the Nov. 4 elections. In addition to the phonebanks, the Dems will also be campaigning over the weekends in New Hampshire and hosting a debate with the Republican Club after the second presidential debate in October, according to Dems President Jarret A. Zafran ’09.
“People are very enthusiastic,” White said. “Harvard kids never want to get up early in the weekend mornings, but we had 120 Harvard undergraduates on our morning bus ride to New Hampshire last Sunday.”
CORRECTION
The Sept. 23 story, "Harvard Dems Organize First Phonebank of 2008 Election Cycle," misattributed a fact about the percent of callers who hung up to Eric M. Hanzich '11. In fact, the estimate was provided by another volunteer.
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