Most classes might have been over by 8:30 Tuesday night, but many students braved the snow anyway to come to Case Hall for a late-night education - on politics.
MSU's Multi-Racial Unity Living Experience, or MRULE, held a one-hour Democratic caucus candidate forum Tuesday evening in an effort to educate students on the presidential hopefuls.
"We got the idea after the State of the Union the week before," said Jon Hoadley, an MRULE student leader. "Some people were saying, 'That's what Bush thinks; I wonder what the Democrats think?'"
Student representatives from the different candidates' campaigns sat at a long table in front of the audience. Each took two minutes at the beginning of the forum to explain the reasons they support their candidates. The floor was then opened for questions from audience members.
Five students spoke to represent presidential hopefuls John Kerry, Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman, Wesley Clark and John Edwards. The student representative for Dennis Kucinich could not attend because of the inclement weather. The Rev. Al Sharpton's views were not presented at the forum.
Many were enthusiastic about the student response to the event.
"It was awesome to see such a great turnout," said Jeff Rector, a political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore. Rector, representing Spartans for Clark, said it was his first time participating in a student forum.
"I think what people want is not government as usual," he said. "They want to feel they can make a difference."
Jaclyn Macek, a social relations junior representing Students for Kerry, said that when it comes to politics, college students are interested in different issues than older-age sets.
"Obviously, their concerns differ," she said. "I think it's important that the candidates don't ignore them."
MRULE put the event on because it was interested in educating student voters.
"We're doing a big push for voter registration right now," said Sarah Elliston, a political science and pre-law senior. "We're trying to encourage political participation."
Elliston, also an MRULE student leader, said although MRULE generally doesn't get involved with politics, the election year calls for more involvement in order to get students interested.
"We've seen a great need for this because we found students don't know as much as we thought they did as far as politics go," she said. "We're trying to get students to educate themselves and take part in political processes as much as possible."
As another service to students, MRULE participants stayed after the forum to help students register to vote or sign up for online ballots for the Feb. 7 Michigan Democratic caucus.
Quinton Robinson, another MRULE leader, said it's a shame that more students don't take advantage of opportunities to learn about politics, citing the Internet and events such as Tuesday night's forum as ways for students to become educated.
"We have so many resources at our fingertips," the mechanical engineering and urban planning junior said. "This is a great time to get involved."
Students taking their first stabs at the voting process said the forum helped clarify what the candidates stand for.
"This is my first time voting and I was a little unsure of the candidates' stances," said James Madison freshman Ashley Brasseur. "I know I'll be voting for the Democratic party, I just want to make sure I make the right choice."
Emily Bingham can be reached at binghame@msu.edu.
