While the campus will be abuzz with Homecoming activities this weekend, Republican presidential hopefuls, John McCain and Elizabeth Dole are expected to be on hand to greet students this Saturday to gear up for the two Hanover town meetings on Oct. 27 and 28, which will serve as a lead-in to the New Hampshire primaries in February.
McCain, the Arizona senator, and Dole, the former president of the American Red Cross are scheduled to speak informally to students at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the Collis porch, respectively.
McCain is expected meet with students at the SAE fraternity house in an open event for any interested students. Co-sponsored by Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, the event is intended more for students than townspeople.
For an hour beginning at 11 a.m., McCain will informally meet with students and discuss campaign issues. The Senator is scheduled to speak for 10 minutes and then hold a question-and-answer session, after which he will mingle with the crowd, SAE programming chair Joe LaBracio '00 said
"He wants to meet with students, and anyone who comes is pretty much guaranteed to meet him," LaBracio '00 said.
By noon, McCain will walk to Memorial Field and stay for a good portion of the football game.
"The whole event is a tailgate party. We'll have food and the radio station is doing a pre-game show from our lawn. After, we will escort him over to the football game and will stay at least until halftime," LaBracio said.
LaBracio said McCain might be present at an event at the Top of the Hop and then meet with Native American students at the Native American Library prior to his appearance at SAE.
McCain's stop at Dartmouth is part of his three-day swing through the Granite State that begins Thursday. This is the senator's 17th trip to New Hampshire since mid-February when he announced his candidacy, according to McCain spokeswoman Jonne Monaco.
McCain will attend a forum in Durham on Thursday that is sponsored by the Union Leader newspaper and organized and televised by New England Cable News, Monaco said.
Meanwhile, Dole will arrive in Hanover this Saturday and address students from the Collis porch at an open event scheduled from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
"It's going to be a great opportunity to interact with her. After speaking here a few years ago, she is really excited to be coming back to Dartmouth. She knows there's a good group supporting her here," Dole for Dartmouth President Kelly Grieco '01 said.
A private reception will be held for Dole at the Delta Delta Delta sorority house either before or after the event on the Collis porch. Dole, who was a sister at the sorority during her undergraduate days at Duke University, will visit the Tri-Delt house and meet with its sisters over tea, Grieco said.
Grieco said a Dole rally will occur before the town meetings, but the location has not been determined.
Other Presidential candidates intend to journey to the Granite State in the near future in hopes of securing more votes before the primary.
Texas Governor George W. Bush is also touring the state this weekend, a two day stint beginning with an Upper Valley meet-and-greet at Signal Aviation at the Lebanon airport at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday.
"It's an open event and all students are more than welcome to attend. We hope to see them there," New Hampshire Bush Press Secretary Janna Nuzum said.
Because Bush wants to talk to everyone, the event should take about an hour, but the timing will depend on the attendance, Nuzum said.
This event marks the closest geographically Bush will come to visiting the College until after the Presidential candidate's town meetings in Hanover with Democrats speaking in a forum on Wednesday, Oct. 27, and Republicans speaking the following evening.
Nuzum confirmed Bush will be back in the Hanover region, but not until after the scheduled Republican forum on the 28th. That night, the Governor will be with his wife in Dallas where she is to be the recipient of the Southern Methodist University Distinguished Alumni award.
Bush, however, will be attending a debate with all Republican candidates on December 2nd at the WMUR-TV news studios in Manchester. News Director of WMUR Karen Brown and Nightline anchor Ted Kopple will moderate the event. The televised program will run from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and will be rebroadcast on Nightline.
The remainder of Bush's New Hampshire stop will include a Friday morning breakfast at the Country Kitchen restaurant in Newport. An hour later, at 9:30, Bush is scheduled to hold a "Fire Station Chat" with Newport community residents, which involves a traditional style town meeting with a question-and-answer period, Nuzum said.
At noon on the same day, Bush will hold a Cheshire County meet-and-greet at Keene's Colony Mills Marketplace. A tour of the downtown and a viewing of the Keene Pumpkin Festival are also on Bush's docket, Nuzum said.
Judging from his current schedule, the prospect of Vice President Al Gore visiting the College before the town meetings seems unlikely, according to a Gore spokesman.
The Vice President has an engagement in Manchester directly prior to the Democratic town meeting, and campaign organizers could not confirm whether he will have time to meet with students or residents after the event, according to the spokesman.
Yet campus Gore organizers believe they will have an opportunity to interact in a smaller setting with Gore.
"All volunteers and supporters will have a chance to join with local activists from the Hanover, Claremont and Keene areas to meet and speak with the Vice President and his campaign team," Gore organizer Tom Leatherbee '01 said.
Democratic challenger and former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley along with Republican candidates Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes, Pat Buchanan and Gary Bauer have confirmed their attendance at the town-meetings, but could not be reached for comment about visiting New Hampshire prior to that event.
