University of Rhode Island

URI College Republicans
The URI College Republicans are a grassroots student organization that serves as a medium between college kids and the Republican Party. Jonathan Hansen, a member of the group, confirms that this election year is more pivotal than previous years because of its unusual nature, “This 2008 election is truly historic in many ways. Seeing an African-American as the nominee of one party shows that America has come along way. Seeing a second woman be a nominee for vice-president is a major event. I believe these aspects of the election have greatly motivated students and we at URI have seen a significant jump in recruitment this year because of it.”
The College Republicans have been more active and involved than ever due to the unusual nature of the campaign, but Hansen also attributes much of the awareness and involvement to new forms of media: “I believe that social networking and other devices will draw some of the largest voter turnouts we have ever seen, especially for the student population.” For more info, visit http://www.urigop.org/

URI Students for Change
One or URI’s oldest clubs certainly sounds like it was meant to exist during this revolutionary election year. Students for Change was founded some 20 years ago, advocating for progressive social change through activism politically, socially and economically. Check out www.uri.edu/student_organizations/urissc/ for more details.

Providence College

College Democrats
The PC Democrats have been busy lately, working on a voter registration drive in conjunction with the College Republicans – proving its not just about what party you belong to. In addition to getting students registered, the group sponsors speakers like Sheldon Whitehouse, Jack Reed, Patrick Kennedy and David Cicilline; has canvassing trips in the works; and is planning a debate between the two campaigns. It’s a lot to plan, and Matthew Rucci, President of the College Democrats, stresses the importance of constant events, lectures and goings-on. “Students become apathetic when we don’t plan events, so the challenge for us is to come up with events that are interesting and help students become politically aware. One of our claims to fame is a three part event series we put on last year called ‘Get Ready, Set, Vote.’ At this event we ran a registration drive, an information session, and got students to the polls. It was extremely successful, and is even being considered for the national scene.”
Though organizing and empowering is a major time commitment, they have a goal in sight. “There is much at stake, not only for us students, but for this country,” says Rucci. “We believe that Obama can make the difference for America, and we are committed to his cause.” Visit them at pcdems.blogspot.com

College Republicans
The College Republicans create awareness about conservative philosophies on campus. They campaign for local and national candidates and have even sent some members to the Inauguration. At press time, they did not have information on their fall events, but check out www.pc.crfri.org for more information.

Johnson & Wales University

College Republicans
The JWU group is part of the College Republican Federation of Rhode Island. The group doesn’t just get together students of similar conservative viewpoints to discuss the national campaign. They make an impact on the local political scene as well. Marc Coda, Johnson & Wales College Republicans Chairman and Senatorial Candidate says that, “This election year is a very busy one for us,” especially because Coda is running for RI State Senate in District 6. “The College Republicans have been a very big help getting the word out on campus and off, going door to door, trying to get me elected even if we have class at 7am.” To help on a local and national scale and show support for young leaders like Coda, visit www.jwu.crfri.org for more details.

Whatever you do to get involved this year, whether it be through campus organizations or the campaigns directly, remember the choice is yours. Jonathan Hansen, of the URI Republicans put it best when he said, “I believe it is important to see past the intense partisan deadlock in Washington and vote for a candidate that you believe will best lead America.” Whatever your views, your party and your beliefs, just do your part and show up in November. We’ll see you there!