From staff reports
The State News
In order to place a vote at the Democratic Caucus site in the Union on Saturday, voters first had to pass through a multitude of students making final efforts to advocate their favorite candidates.
The students - mostly members of various campus groups in support of the candidates - approached anyone who emerged from the stairwell outside of the site on the Union's third floor.
One campaigner, MSU Students for Dean member Jacob Phelps, enthusiastically conveyed his belief in former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean to those who would listen, seeming more like an evangelist than a college student as he spoke.
"It's my responsibility to make change," said Phelps, an environmental science and management and history of art junior, having just finished speaking with several voters. "Anything I can do to get people involved is a good thing."
And when there were no voters to convince, the group members turned to each other, discussing why they felt their candidate is the one for the job.
"It's not about tearing the other guy apart," said political science and pre-law freshman Josh Patrick, a supporter of U.S. Sen. John Kerry.
"It's just fun to support a candidate."
Kerry ended up winning Saturday caucuses in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Political theory and constitutional democracy junior Jeff Rector, a supporter of retired Gen. Wesley Clark, expressed sadness that the caucus had finally come.
"I've been working on this for, like, 10 months," said Rector, a member of Spartans for Clark. "I won't know what to do when it's over. It can't be the last day."
But much of Saturday's caucus-related student activity occurred outside campus borders.
In one Foster Community Center hallway, the sounds of John Edwards' supporters hawking their candidate mixed with the throbbing salsa beats flowing out of a nearby Latin dance class.
The center, 200 N. Foster St. in Lansing, was one of the city's caucus sites.
Integrative studies in social science senior Dan Scheimer, a member of Students for Edwards at the site, said the other candidates don't offer what the North Carolina senator does.
"He speaks to the people as one of them," Scheimer said. "He's more of a middleman and a little more realistic with the issues."
MSU Students for Kerry spent the first part of the day stumping on Grand River Avenue, generating responses ranging from supportive honks to obscene gestures as they brandished Kerry signs.
"It's really all about visibility," group coordinator Jaclyn Macek said. "We've been getting some good reactions."
Later, the group headed to Lansing to make calls encouraging Democrats to vote for Kerry.
MSU Students for Dean used a chalkboard to split the group, so Dean supporters could cover as much of campus as possible.
"Literally, I was working on my pitch for Dean in the shower," international relations junior Steve Purchase said.
The group spent the day giving rides to caucus sites, going door to door in the dorms, calling supporters to remind them to vote and walking along Grand River Avenue with signs.
The activity around Mid-Michigan was preceded by heavy campaigning elsewhere in the state. On Friday, some students trekked to Flint, where both Kerry and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich made stops to speak to supporters.
Kerry was joined by prominent politicians such as Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin and U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt - his former rival. As he spoke to a crowd of nearly 300 people, he stressed that his sole motivation was to defeat President Bush in November's general election.
"We're here to mark the end of the cynicism and to mark the beginning of the end of the Bush presidency," Kerry said firmly as he moved about the stage. "Like father like son, one term and you're done."
General business administration and pre-law senior Robert Kent, who attended the event, said Kerry's impassioned speech was not enough to persuade him to vote for the Democrat.
"I'd consider myself a Republican," he said. "I figure if I don't see the other side, I can't be firm in my beliefs."
Though his audience was smaller than Kerry's, Kucinich exhibited an equal amount of vitality while speaking to about 50 people later that day.
"The people of this country do not want to trade a Republican war for a Democratic war," Kucinich said, walking up and down the aisles and establishing eye contact with members of the crowd.
The audience, convened in a Flint senior citizens' center, had spent more than an hour singing songs and telling jokes about President Bush while they waited for the tardy congressman.
Though the Michigan Democratic Caucus has come to a close, Students for Dean coordinator Heather Ricketts said her group still will be active, joining other MSU Democrats to rally behind whichever candidate gets the nomination.
"We will support any Democrat that gets the nomination," said Ricketts, a social relations senior. "Students for Dean definitely are not voting for Bush."
Staff writers Dirk VanderHart, Alessa Thomas, and Don Jordan contributed to this report.
