For a small number of politically juiced students, the 11 hours they will spend today handing out sample ballots and encouraging voters is simply the final stretch of a summer-long trip on the campaign trail.
Volunteers, most will agree, are the backbone of any local campaign. They answer phones, knock on doors and do just about everything most college students would never dream of doing for free. But in one of the most competitive and demanding primaries College Park candidates have been through for some time, there are a few students who have reveled in their role as volunteers.
“Other than running, it’s one of the best ways to shape democracy. You realize it’s not something too far beyond you,” said senior environmental science and policy major Kip Edwards, who spent last night chalking reminders for students to come out and vote.
“Whether it’s knocking on doors or standing outside handing out literature, you get to meet people who aren’t engaged in politics, and you can really learn a lot about your community and yourself. A lot of my political views were shaped by my experience,” Edwards said.
Edwards is one of dozens of students volunteering for former regent Jim Rosapepe, who is challenging District 21 incumbent Sen. John Giannetti. Although some would dispute whether the senatorial race is being run on the grassroots level because both candidates have been so heavily funded, they still rely heavily on hundreds of volunteers.
And College Park, which is part of District 21, is prime recruiting ground for local candidates. Campaigns such as those of Rosapepe’s rival, Giannetti, will occasionally pull a hundred volunteers in on a busy day, many from the campus, campaign officials said.
Students with political aspirations will volunteer for campaigns as an opportunity to get their feet wet in the process. Others, such as senior government and politics major Radha Vishnuvajjala do it because they get an itch to make a difference.
“I don’t think I’d ever want to be a politician. I want to be involved when I see issues that matter,” said Vishnuvajjala, who was recruited by Rosapepe at a College Democrats meeting last fall. Apart from Rosapepe’s appeal, she said she volunteered for the purpose of “just getting to know people who are involved in local politics because it’s not something you hear a lot about it in the media.”
Vishnuvajjala said one of her responsibilities as a volunteer is to turn around the usual low voter turnout on the campus by using new technological approaches such as Facebook. Though she sees herself as part of the Rosapepe team, she said she would not take it to heart if Rosapepe were to lose.
Some student volunteers, however, won’t take it so lightly.
Sophomore government and politics and history major Mayur Patel, who puts in anywhere from six to 15 hours a week for the Giannetti campaign, takes all the ups and downs with his “team.” But even if Giannetti loses, he will not regret his hours of dedicated volunteer work.
“Just for the fact that I worked for someone that was a senator at one point, even if we didn’t win, I don’t think it would make a major difference,” Patel said. “It’s not a lot of fun when you start out; you’re going to be stuffing envelopes,” he said. “Just to see how politics work, it was a good experience.”
Contact reporter Owen Praskievicz at praskieviczdbk@gmail.com.
