From the class to the war room

For 60 students, encouraging their peers to vote is more than civic engagement - it's homework.

Introduction to American Politics, a Political Science course, is offering four special recitations this semester, in which students are required to participate in Penn Leads the Vote activities in addition to extra coursework.

The special recitations were introduced this year as a way to get more students involved in PLTV.

"Last spring the PLTV student leaders proposed connecting the 2008 effort more closely to the course and providing dozens of students in the course [with] opportunities to play ongoing roles," said Political Science professor John DiIulio, who teaches the class.

There are 15 students in each of four special recitations, two of which are taught by DiIulio. The other two recitations are taught by Joe Tierney, executive director of the Fox Leadership Program, which works with PLTV.

Out of the more than 200 students in the class, about 90 signed up for the special recitations and 60 were selected by lottery, according to DiIulio.

The special sections differ from regular recitations in that they require more academic work, such as extra writing and group presentations. They also require students to do about 20 hours of PLTV-related work both before and on election day.

This work can include working at the polls on election day, becoming a certified poll watcher and manning PLTV "war rooms," DiIulio said.

In the war rooms, PLTV volunteers will call students who are registered but haven't voted by 5 p.m. on election day, he said.

Students in the special recitations get 100 extra-credit points. Regular-recitation students also have the opportunity earn up to 100 extra-credit points though election-day work and extra-credit papers, DiIulio said.

Special recitations give students a "unique opportunity to practice what various course readings teach about get-out-the-vote strategies and tactics," said DiIulio, who added that the class is a "great example of what we at Penn call 'educating for citizenship.'"

Penn Leads the Vote Executive Board member and College senior AJ Schiera said the special recitations "have worked out really well" and that the students have "been very helpful."

College sophomore Jared Fries signed up for the special recitation because he was already involved in PLTV and "figured I could get more involved this way."

Fries described the workload for the class as "significant," but said being in the special recitation has been "fantastic."

Amy Oster, a College sophomore, who is also in the special recitation, worked on Mobilize08 events pre-election and will be working at the polls on election day.

Oster took the class because she thought it would be a good opportunity to "do work on election day that I wouldn't otherwise do."

DiIulio plans to offer special recitations in fall 2010 for the midterm elections and again in 2012 for the next presidential elections.

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