Student volunteers get out the vote for Democrats, GOP

Penn groups sendPenn groups sendhundreds to workPenn groups sendhundreds to workon political campaigns While the political activism of some students may be limited to sending in an absentee ballot, the hundreds of Penn undergraduates involved in the College Democrats and College Republicans clubs have jumped into politics head first. With the presidential elections approaching in less than a month, many students have volunteered extensively for the Clinton-Gore and Dole-Kemp presidential campaigns. College Democrats President Adrienne Klembara, a College junior, coordinates volunteers for a broad variety of local, state and national campaigns. The volunteers poll registered voters over the phone, distribute campaign literature and staff voter registration drives like MTV's "Choose or Lose" effort held in University City last Monday, Klembara said. "Occasionally we get to meet high profile people through extensive volunteering," she explained. "This year I was able to meet President Clinton and Vice President Gore." In addition to College Democrats, many students are volunteering for "Victory '96," Pennsylvania's Democratic coalition. College freshman Jen Knopf is working to get various local colleges and universities involved in voter registration. "It is such a good experience to volunteer -- and there is so much more activity in an election year," she said. Equally involved in its efforts for this election, the College Republicans organization at Penn, with a membership of approximately 60 students, works to help the Dole-Kemp campaign. While there is no Dole headquarters in the Philadelphia area, the campus group remains in contact with the campaign's main headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to Wharton senior and College Republicans Chairperson Tony Andreoli. "Whenever there is a Dole rally or even a Clinton rally, we try to have our members attend," Andreoli said. "It is a good opportunity for us to hand out campaign literature." Voter registration is a prime goal of College Republicans, Andreoli said. The group actively tries to register Republican students in Pennsylvania, even if they are registered in another state, Andreoli said. Pennsylvania often proves to be a crucial swing state in elections. Several College Republican members also attended a local Dole luncheon focusing on women's issues. In addition to College Democrats, a group of Penn students founded the Penn for Clinton-Gore '96 organization, which has a membership of approximately 300 students, according to co-chairperson and College sophomore Matt Adler. Since its founding last April, more than a thousand students have registered to vote through the group's activities, which included the "Choose or Lose" campaign, he said. Adler said group members speak to various student organizations on campus about Clinton's stance on issues that are relevant to them. And Ross Perot's Reform Party is also represented at Penn. While there is no formal Reform Party organization on campus, Medical student Scott Kush works for the campaign in conjunction with local headquarters in Philadelphia. Kush invited all three campaigns to come speak on campus. Perot's campaign expressed some interest in sending the Texas billionaire to campus in the near future, he said. "Originally we had asked Perot to address health care issues to Medical students, but then we opened the opportunity up to the entire University as well as others in the area," Kush said.