Senator John McCain's presidential campaign has selected three Dartmouth students as leaders of New Hampshire Students for John McCain, the Republican campaign's new grassroots organization made up of students from colleges and universities across the state. Greg Boguslavsky '09 was chosen to co-chair the organization, and Tom Huzarsky '09 and Jennifer Bandy '09 were selected to lead the organization's efforts at Dartmouth.
The new organization was created by the McCain-Palin campaign in order to bolster student volunteer efforts in New Hampshire, a battleground state in the 2008 presidential election. The group will focus on recruiting volunteers for McCain's campaign and on promoting the candidate's platform on campuses across the state. Other student political organizations, like the College Republicans, have similar objectives but are also active in state and local political campaigns, according to Boguslavsky.
"We're all focused on the same thing -- getting students to volunteer and become involved in local, Senate and national races," he said. "There's a lot of overlap between these organizations since we have the same goals."
Groups created in support of a specific candidate or campaign, like New Hampshire Students for John McCain, offer a niche for those who may be uncomfortable with an association to a specific political party, Boguslavsky added.
"Students who aren't involved with the College Republicans or don't want to be, but believe strongly that Senator McCain should win, can become involved," said Boguslavsky. "Students for McCain has a broader focus."
Boguslavsky, who has volunteered for the McCain campaign since November 2007, has been active in Dartmouth's chapter of the College Republicans for three years, serving as the organization's president in Spring 2007. He is currently the chairman of the New Hampshire state chapter of the College Republicans, a national youth political organization with chapters on over 1,800 college campuses.
"During the New Hampshire primaries in mid-November, I decided to support Senator McCain and then started volunteering for his campaign and just kept on moving to bigger leadership positions," he said. During the 2008 presidential primary campaign, Boguslavsky served as the regional chair of Students for McCain, and spent time volunteering for the McCain campaign in Manchester, N.H.
Senator Barack Obama's Democratic presidential campaign has not formed an analogous student organization in the state, but campus political groups work directly with Students for Barack Obama, the campaign's national organization of student volunteers, according to Beau Trudel '10, co-founder of Dartmouth for Obama. The Obama-Biden campaign's resources in New Hampshire have been sufficient to organize youth outreach, he added. Trudel said that Dartmouth has been recognized for its well-organized campus support for the Obama campaign, estimating that over 60 percent of campus voted in the 2008 New Hampshire primaries, which far exceeds the national average for student participation.
Dartmouth for Obama, founded by Trudel and Shaun Stewart '10 in 2006, was incorporated into Dartmouth's chapter of the College Democrats this past summer. The organization is actively working for the Obama-Biden campaign, as well as for Jeanne Shaheen U.S. Senate bid in New Hampshire.
"[Dartmouth's chapter of the] College Democrats is one of the largest, most active organizations on campus," Trudel said. "Dartmouth students, like many Americans, are ready for positive change, and we are seeing that in the number of people who are getting involved."
Huzarsky is a former member of The Dartmouth business staff.
