Students have launched an AU chapter of Unity08, a national movement designed to engage average citizens in the upcoming election, according to Nick Troiano, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, intern at Unity08 and an Eagle photographer and podcaster.
Unity08 aims to nominate a unity - or bipartisan - ticket at an online presidential nominating convention in June 2008 in the hopes that voters will elect the ticket. People who register as delegates will be able to vote in the online convention.
Each delegate has to prove he or she is a registered voter in his or her state of residence. Once Unity08 chooses its nominees, the movement will need to meet each state's ballot qualifications to appear on that state's general election ballot, according to the Unity08 Web site.
Democrats Hamilton Jordan and Gerald Rafshoon, Republican Doug Bailey and Angus King, an Independent former governor of Maine, formed Unity08 in 2006 as a way of unifying Democrats and Republicans in their common dissatisfaction with the polarity of current party politics, according to the Unity08 Web site.
The club will complement AU's politically active campus, Troiano said.
"AU's campus represents the U.S. as a whole, a country divided into two camps," he said. "My mission in bringing Unity08 to AU is to create a forum for people to discuss opinions without being labeled a Republican or a Democrat."
Unity08 seeks to ease the level of partisan politics in D.C., said Laura Conolly, secretary of the Unity08 chapter and a freshman in SPA.
Unity08 is open to all registered voters, and it is not necessary for someone to leave their registered party to become a member, said Dan Shorts, a freshman in SPA and the chapter's treasurer.
"If you are interested in moderation, understanding and unity, this organization is for you," he said.
The AU chapter held its kickoff meeting Oct. 24. At the meeting, Troiano explained Unity08's purpose and the national movement's plans. Whitney Novak, national college coordinator for Unity08, spoke at the meeting, Conolly said.
College students will play an important role in upcoming elections, Novak said.
"College students are the future of our country, and their opinion matters greatly," she said. "Unity08 is an amazing opportunity for the youth to have their voice heard, create a new era of American politics and change history."
AU is a good place to have a Unity08 chapter, Conolly said.
"Being such a politically involved campus, AU is a good place to start a chapter," she said. "Also, because Unity08 is based in Arlington all of the political students can get involved ."
AU's chapter continues to hold events, and there will be a kickoff event for the Unity08 College Program at George Washington University Sunday, Conolly said.
