Students worked for the Office of Alumni Relations' "Vox the Vote" campaign during a four-hour "phonefest" in the top of the Hopkins Center on Saturday. The phonefest, the first of five scheduled over the next three weeks, encouraged alumni participation in the ongoing vote on the proposed Alumni Association constitution and petition amendments.
The College hopes to draw a record-breaking 30 percent participation rate in the elections, which end Oct. 31. The final phonefest is scheduled to take place on Oct. 23.
Many students participated in order to raise funds for their College-recognized groups and Alumni Relations awarded money to those organizations based on high member representation.
Student volunteers signed a confidentiality agreement and were prohibited from advocating either side of the constitution debate as they placed calls to alumni.
Jesse Victor '09, a member of the Dartmouth Cords who worked at the event in order to raise money for the a capella group, was enthusiastic about the event despite his uncertainty about the constitution itself.
"I guess I'd say that although frankly I'm a little confused myself about the constitution, I know that I am helping the College out simply by providing alumni with resources with which they can educate themselves about the issue and encouraging them to vote one way or the other," he said.
The controversial constitution debate has made national headlines and could further heat up in the final month before the election concludes.
Vice President for Alumni Relations David Spalding '76 commented on the significance of the election as he lauded student participation in the Vox the Vote campaign.
"This vote on alumni governance is historic and very important," Spalding said.
"We want to hear from as many alumni as possible. And since the outcome of this decision will affect future alumni, it also makes sense for the students to be involved."
