AU students are participating in numerous political campaigns, such as the November midterm elections, to gain valuable political experience that can be applied to future career plans.
Jordan Landry, who graduated in 2006 from the School of Public Affairs, said student involvement can be crucial to a campaign's success. As the statewide volunteer coordinator of Maryland State Comptroller candidate Peter Franchot, Landry actively recruits volunteers from D.C. and Maryland's Montgomery County because numerous colleges in those areas are home to a large groups of students willing to help campaign.
Since Franchot's full-time staff is limited, Landry says he relies heavily on volunteer students to fill important campaign roles such as phone banking and handing out literature to potential voters.
"All of our get-out-the-vote efforts rely solely on student volunteers," he said. "Not only do they assist our campaigns in reaching our desired goal, but campaigns also offer invaluable experience to the students themselves."
Peter Kirchhausen, a junior in SPA, works as a volunteer for U.S. Senate candidate Ben Cardin, D-Md.
Kirchhausen said he worked at Cardin's central office on primary day and sent campaign staff out to the homes of people who indicated they would vote for Cardin in areas where Cardin needed more support at the polls. Kirchhausen's support contributed to the efforts that ultimately lead Cardin to winning the primary.
"I was just making sure that people knew Ben Cardin was a viable candidate and that all people had the opportunity and chance to cast their vote," he said.
Some students said they worked for campaigns even before they came to AU.
Phil Zakahi, a freshman in SPA, was a volunteer on the Howard Dean presidential campaign and has worked on three other campaigns. Zakahi also worked as finance director on Democrat Al Kissling's congressional campaign for representing New Mexico's second congressional district.
Zakahi's views on politics have somewhat changed as a result of his campaign experience.
"Whereas I entered the office of the Howard Dean campaign a bright eyed rah-rah liberal, I left the Kissling campaign totally dissuaded that there is any opportunity for real political change," he said.
Some of AU's political clubs promote events where members are encouraged to help out on campaigns.
David Manchester, a senior in the School of International Service and a representative from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, spoke to the College Democrats at their meeting last Tuesday about various opportunities students have to travel to contested congressional districts in order to support Democratic candidates.
In addition, the College Republicans hosted an event where members stood at a Metro stop and handed out flyers for Michael Steele, the Republican candidate for Maryland's open U.S. Senate seat.
Dave Fleischmann, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, traveled to Pennsylvania with the College Republicans on Sept. 30 to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Rick Santorum.
According to Fleischmann, the College Republicans worked with Santorum's staff and knocked on the doors of registered Republicans to encourage them to vote for Santorum in the upcoming election.
"It was a great experience," he said. "I learned that campaigning is not just about fancy TV commercials, but about educating potential voters one-by-one on the ground"
