As the tightly-contested New Hampshire senatorial race begins to heat up, several Dartmouth students have donated their time to assist candidates in their campaigns.
Phil Peisch '04 learned of the opportunity to volunteer for Governor Jeanne Shaheen, who is challenging incumbent Republican Bob Smith, while serving as president of the Young Democrats during the past year.
"I'm mainly helping with the voter registration drive for Dartmouth students," said Peisch, who is working for the state gubernatorial campaign as well.
While both Peisch and Josh Marcuse '04, who is also helping with the Shaheen campaign, said that they had done some local door-to-door canvassing, motivating Dartmouth students to follow the race may be their most important responsibility.
"The whole election could be decided by less than 1,000 votes," Marcuse said. "It's going to come down to the little stuff, and Dartmouth could make the difference."
Marcuse said that even if the outcome of the election has less of an impact on students than on permanent New Hampshire residents, students should note the fact that the race has the potential to swing the balance of the now evenly-divided U.S. senate.
Peisch added that several issues at stake in the campaign -- particularly the debate over student loans -- "have the potential to affect hundreds of students."
"Candidates generally don't spend a lot of time talking to students," he said. "It's really a matter of just getting the issues on the radar."
A voter registration drive organized by the Young Democrats and supported by the New Hampshire Democratic Party will be held on Aug. 6 "to encourage students to vote and to keep them involved so there is a student voice in the political process," Peisch said.Not all student volunteers are working for Shaheen, however. Elliot Olshansky '04, after hearing New Hampshire Congressman John Sununu speak at Dartmouth in January, decided to support him in his bid to challenge incumbent Bob Smith in the Republican primary.
Olshansky, a sports editor at The Dartmouth, said he had volunteered at several events both in nearby West Lebanon and Manchester, as well as in Hanover itself.
Though most of his campaign work has been done off-campus, Olshansky said that is likely to change if Sununu wins the Sept. 10 primary.
"After we get through the primary, that's when we're going to be focusing on the campus," he said. "The real focus in this campaign is going to come later, once students have returned for Fall term."
Marcuse agreed that much of the work he was doing was "simply laying the groundwork for the fall."
While Olshansky said he knew of few others working for either of the Republican candidates, Marcuse was "encouraged" by the overall level of student participation, especially during an expected summer lull.
"Obviously there is going to be less interest than when there is a presidential election," he said, "but we are going to be fighting for each individual vote."
