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BY BEN OLDFIELD

In print | Published November 11, 2004

Despite the culmination of their Get-Out-the-Vote efforts in the Nov. 2 presidential election, on-campus political groups are looking ahead to future activity.

Both the College Democrats and the Swarthmore Voter Registration Coalition hope the spirit of activism roused by the election will continue.

“I still flinch when I see George Bush’s face on that Phoenix cover,” College Democrats treasurer Patrick Hart ’06 said.

“But I think seeing Pennsylvania go blue really vindicated a lot of the hard work volunteers did, and I’m looking forward to the Dems continuing to be a presence on campus,” he added.

SVRC co-founder and co-chair Ethan Ucker ’07 was also pleased with voter turnout on election day. Political interest on campus, he said, is still alive.

“So many students volunteered,” he said, “and it’s exciting that there are people who are still interested in being involved.” According to Ucker, over 90 percent of Swarthmore students registered to vote in Pennsylvania did so successfully. In addition, hundreds of students volunteered for Get-Out-the-Vote efforts sponsored by America Coming Together and MoveOn.org, and over 30 students acted as poll-watchers in Swarthmore, Chester and Upper Darby.

Although Ucker is positive that the SVRC will continue to promote civic engagement on campus, he is unsure about the coalition’s new form and the possibility of a new name. He hopes to increase contact between other political groups on campus, including the Swarthmore Progressive Action Committee, College Democrats and College Republicans.

“We want to form a think tank — whose meetings would be open to students — to figure out how to proceed,” Ucker said.

College Republicans President Maria Macia also expressed interest in her group delving into bipartisan ventures.

“We … look forward to working with the College Democrats on hosting joint events where there can be a productive and constructive dialogue on political issues,” she said in an e-mail.

SPAC co-coordinator Rachel Ackoff ’07 said her organization will keep up its momentum while moving away from directly political endeavors.

For instance, SPAC is currently trying to increase the amount of free trade products on campus. “We’ve succeeded this fall in having Essie Mae’s serve exclusively fair-trade coffee, and we’re hoping for the same to happen at Kohlberg and the Science Center,” she said.

In conjunction with Ucker’s proposal, Ackoff would like to see the establishment of a coalition for all the progressive groups on campus, including the College Democrats and SVRC. This way, groups with similar goals will be able to pinpoint where their missions overlap and eventually collaborate.

“For example, I would expect that Enlace and Earthlust might have special investments in promoting fair trade, which we’ve taken on as a major issue,” she said.

Ackoff also said it is necessary for SPAC and other progressive groups to organize better now than in the past, now that campus political interest has increased. “We’re discussing really reclaiming Wharton group space so we can use it as storage and maybe even for meetings,” she said.

While still honing their definite post-election goals, the College Republicans plan to continue their mission to “ensure that the conservative view is represented and presented in the first place on campus,” Macia said. To this end, the group is planning lectures to discuss conservative thought and monthly political movie screenings which will be followed by discussion, according to Macia.

As for the College Democrats, elections will be held in December and future leadership will be in the hands of underclassmen, according to President Eva Barboni ’06. Neither she nor Hart is planning to run for office again since they will not have as much time to dedicate to the organization, though both will stay active.

Regardless of who will be in charge, the College Democrats are looking ahead to the 2006 elections. “Paul Scoles will be a strong challenger for the Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2006,” Hart said. Until then, “We’ll need to make sure [Sen. Arlen] Specter doesn’t get too conservative. We’ll try to keep him honest,” Barboni said.

Even though the immediate election-related goals are over, the political groups plan to use the momentum from their recent activities to pursue future objectives.

“I’m really moved by the post-election energy, which I didn’t expect,” Ackoff said. “One of the most exciting aspects is the amount of collaboration groups are talking about.”

Additional reporting by Christina Temes

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