By Bryan Toporek

For students interested in political activity, Georgetown has historically been a haven for their interests, most notably known for former U.S. President Bill Clinton graduating from the school in the 60’s.  The political fervor remains on campus even today; however, with the muddled presidential picture shaping up for the 2008 election, Georgetown students struggle with rallying behind a single candidate. 
            The two main political groups on campus, the College Democrats and College Republicans, echo these sentiments of increased political activity, both reporting a significant growth in membership throughout the 2007-08 school year.  Over 1,400 students at Georgetown belong to the College Democrats, officially making it the largest organization on campus, while over 500 students belong to the College Republicans.  The College Democrats have gained more than 300 new members since the beginning of the year; to put that in perspective, most groups at Georgetown would love to even have 300 members. 
Despite the political activity in both groups, neither can officially support a candidate until the national party chooses a nominee.  Based on the recent results of the national primaries, this rule puts the College Democrats and College Republicans in two entirely different places.  With Sen. John McCain earning the Republican nomination within the past few weeks, the College Republicans officially can endorse him and begin working on his campaign; the College Democrats must continue to play the role of a third party observer to the Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama showdown in the Democratic primaries.  
            “We have continued to bring speakers to campus all year, and host events which showcase why conservative candidates are needed in our government,” says Ellen Dargie, new chair of the College Republicans.  “We have been active in discussing, planning for, and participating in events and issues which are leading up to November 2008… having [John] McCain as our official candidate really gets us a head start on the presidential election process.”
            The College Democrats, on the other hand, find themselves locked in a national primary battle, restricting the group from the same advantages that the College Republicans find themselves experiencing recently.  “We have lots of our leaders and members working for various campaigns, and we assist our members in going to work on those campaigns.  We offer all the campaigns all the resources of our organization,” says Adam Feiler, president of the College Democrats. 
            While the candidates hit the stretch run of the primary system, the College Democrats and College Republicans are finding their own ways to participate in the political system.  The groups have come together with GUVotes08, an effort to have students register to vote in their home states.  The campus Democrats and Republicans have collaborated to bring monthly issue forums with GUVotes08 to discuss health care or the war in Iraq.  On their website, the College Democrats offer detailed information on campaign opportunities, listing the websites of both of the Democratic candidates, people to contact to get involved with either of the campaigns and upcoming events for each of the campaigns.
            According to www.rockthevote.com, from 1972 until 2000, voting demographics from ages 18-29 were trending downward, plummeting from 55% to 40%.  However, in the most recent two elections, the political parties clearly targeted the youth vote, with conventional wisdom saying “candidates who successfully mobilize young voters this year will be the candidates on the victory podium come November.”  Rock The Vote suggests that in this current election, evidence suggests that young voters are paying more attention than ever at this period in the election cycle; “compared to 2004, young adults’ turnout tripled in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, and nearly tripled in the New Hampshire primaries.”
            These numbers and this report from Rock The Vote suggest that presidential election fervor has swept youths across the nation. Both heads of the party groups on campus find themselves trying to build new and innovative ways to take advantage of the rampant enthusiasm.  Between establishing Facebook groups, setting up tables in campus locale Red Square, or beginning the process of creating t-shirts for their candidates, Georgetown students are finding a myriad of ways to get involved. 
The College Democrats, attempting to insert a little humor into the election, have a running poll of “Who do you support for the Republican nomination for President?” on their website.  As of the morning of Monday, Feb. 18, “Rudy ‘The Drag Queen’ Giuliani” was leading with 35% of the votes cast, 76 votes total.  “John ‘Abstinence-Only’ McCain,” the actual Republican nominee, came in second, while Mike Huckabee, McCain’s last competitor, was notably absent from the list.
            Despite the official organization limitations regarding endorsing candidates, many members of the camus groups have found themselves already intertwined with particular campaigns.  Feiler personally finds himself involved with the election process in more ways than just being president of the College Democrats.  A quick search on Facebook turns up the “GU for Barack Obama” Facebook group, with 179 members.  The creator of this group?  Feiler.  On Tuesday, Feb. 12, the group hosted “Rock Barack 2008” in honor of DC’s primary.  Volunteers for the event went door-to-door, reminding Georgetown students and residents alike to vote. 
            While national reports show the youth vote trending heavily towards Obama, some Georgetown students find themselves more conflicted than the apparent general public. Andrew Dunn, a junior in the Georgetown College interning with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, finds himself in the masses of undecided voters.  He finds major flaws in both candidates; he worries that Obama’s “candidacy of change” is a sham due to his mainly mainstream nature. However, Dunn says, “I'm worried that if Hillary was close to a defeat she'd make some decisions that would seriously fracture the Democratic party either by reinstating the delegates from Michigan/Florida or by using her strength with the superdelegates to win by a small margin of unelected delegates which would probably end in half of the black delegates walking out of the Democratic National Convention.”  When asked whether he could see himself voting for the Republican party based on this division, Dunn firmly replied that there was “a very very remote chance,” citing McCain’s division in his own party, along with his fundamental desire to have a Democrat in the White House for the next four years.
Aaron Markowitz, a junior in the Georgetown College who worked for the Democratic National Committee last year, has had less trouble than most selecting a candidate to endorse.  He believes Sen. Obama “has the best chance to win the national election in the fall, but I also think he is a good politician with a strong message for change.”  And despite the predictions of pundits saying that the division of Democrats has only been hurting the party, Markowitz feels otherwise.  He says, “[The division] gives [the Democratic candidates] more time to organize their campaign (and attacks) for the fall from RNC. But overall there is a lot more zeal and enthusiasm on the Democratic side, with Democrats drawing twice the numbers of Republicans in some states.  I believe the Democratic Party will rally around whomever gets the nomination.”