In a spacious room on the third floor of a small building next door to C & A's Pizza, the walls and ceilings are adorned with "Clinton-Gore" posters, balloons and streamers and two supporters of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore are hard at work gathering local support for their 1996 re-election campaign.
Although Peter Spanos, who works for the New Hampshire Democratic Party and Craig Schirmer, a Clinton staff member, were the only two people in the Clinton-Gore '96 Re-elect office yesterday afternoon, Schirmer said more than 100 Dartmouth students, most of whom are members of the Young Democrats at Dartmouth, have volunteered at the office since the beginning of December.
"Over 100 Dartmouth students as of now have volunteered at the office," Schirmer said, surrounded by mountains of pins and bumper stickers, among other Clinton-Gore paraphernalia. "We are just beginning to try to build on making a concerted effort to get students involved."
Young Democrats co-President Sophie Delano '98 said she is currently working to coordinate activities through which members of the Young Democrats will become involved in the office.
Delano said she hopes members of the Young Democrats will be able to aid the office by volunteering there, going out into the Upper Valley to distribute literature and recruiting supporters over the phone.
Spanos said student volunteers are just beginning to drift into the office as they return from winter break.
The office unofficially opened on Dec. 6, Spanos said.
According to Jake Siewert, press secretary for the Clinton-Gore Campaign in New Hampshire, the office should attract many more volunteers from the College.
"The office is in Hanover partly because the school is there," Siewert said. "Dartmouth will provide all sorts of volunteers. There is a lot of activity on campus and support for Clinton."
Christopher Swift '98, who spent winter break working for the Clinton-Gore '96 Re-elect office in Hanover and for the main New Hampshire Headquarters in Manchester, said he enjoys volunteering at the office.
"It gives me a chance to meet good people, to see the positive side of national politics at work on the local level and to fight for a set of ideals regarding responsibility and understanding and building a better future," Swift said. "At the office we call what we are doing 'The Hard Work of Freedom.' We believe in the President and Vice President, and in their vision of America."
Swift said an interest in politics and his faith in the policies of the Democratic Party motivated his decision to work in the office.
"In the past three years the President and Vice President have made changes whose success and positive impact can be felt upon the young people of this nation," Swift said. "The expansion of college loans and the establishment of the Americorps National Service Program are two things I personally believe are central to reinvesting in the future of our country and rekindling a sense of civic and social responsibility."
Siewert said the principle objective of the office is to garner support in the Upper Valley for the upcoming election.
"Our goals are to build a large base of support for the President and to get people excited and ready to vote," he said.
Siewert said the office is currently working to recruit students to compile steering committees, which are lists of Clinton-Gore supporters in the Upper Valley.
Swift is currently working on assembling one of many steering committees, which he said "gives us a base for starting events and also opens doors in terms of getting out the message and getting people to the polls on Feb. 20 for New Hampshire's first in the nation primary.
"The steering committee work also involves coordinating with the local state representatives here in Hanover, and in the coming month we'll be moving to involve more Dartmouth students through the Young Democrats here at the College," Swift said.
Gov. Howard Dean, D-Vt., participated in the office's grand opening ceremonies in mid-December, according to Spanos. Dean is the only Democratic governor north of Delaware, and his support in the Clinton re-election campaign will be important if Clinton hopes to run well in New England in 1996.
In addition to Dean, the Clinton-Gore campaign is trying to get other Democratic political figures to come to the office, according to Siewert.
He added that Clinton is not expected to come to Hanover before the election.
