Middlebury Students Take Action for Dean

Author: Megan Michelson

At a time when young people are often criticized for being politically inactive and uniformed, it may come as a surprise that former Vermont governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign is based largely on the actions and contributions of college-age students. The Dean for America National Headquarters office in Burlington, Vt., employs a large number of young people - evident in the playful atmosphere and casual dress code of the staff and volunteers.

With almost 100 people on staff, there are youthful faces in every department of the headquarters office. From the Internet research team to the finance committees and speechwriters, there are college students, many of them from Middlebury College, wearing baseball caps and sandals and riding scooters around the office, all trying to put a new Democrat in the White House.

David Temple '05 works full-time in the department that oversees the national Dean meet-ups taking place all over the country. Temple worked for the campaign this summer and decided to take a year off from Middlebury to show his support for Dean. "I'm having fun working here because I believe in what Dean's doing, but it is pretty intense work," said Temple. The full-time staff puts in over 10 hours a day, seven days a week. The grueling hours often take time away from the pastimes to which these young employees are accustomed. "I miss running around and playing frisbee at Middlebury, but the sacrifice is worth it for an experience like this," commented Temple.

Temple works with a recent Middlebury graduate, Michael Silberman '02.5, who serves as the national meet-up coordinator and is in charge of overseeing a network of over 700 hosts and a national action item for the monthly meet-ups around the United States and internationally. Silberman describes the effort as a "truly unique grassroots campaign" and seems thrilled with the experience of supporting a candidate who has similar goals. "Dean has strong links to the environment and is the best candidate to represent my beliefs," Silberman said. Like the many other youngsters in the office, Silberman works long, hard hours in an effort to improve the state of the nation. "It's an incredible experience - exhausting, inspiring and challenging all at once," Silberman said.

Former Student Government Association President Ginny Hunt '03 is one of the national coordinators for Generation Dean, an outreach program that encourages more students and young professionals to become politically involved in Dean's campaign. Generation Dean helps provide resources to high schools, colleges and community groups across the country that are working to support Dean. "The whole idea behind Generation Dean is to open the campaign up to include young people," said Hunt.

The Middlebury College chapter of Generation Dean participated in the Addison County Dean meet-up on Oct. 1, at which Dean fans wrote letters to congressional delegates or high-ranking Democratic figures to encourage them to support Dean. Amy Morsman, Addison County volunteer coordinator for the Dean for America campaign, is currently trying to facilitate getting the College campaign team involved with Addison County meetings. She claims it is a great way for students and the community to share ideas. "We like to create connections between the town and the students. They're joining together for a purpose," she said.

Students and young people are becoming major contributing forces to the political campaign at the grassroots level as well as at the campaign headquarters. Andrew Feinberg '04, co-founder of Middlebury's Generation Dean, described students as "an untapped resource" in the voting public. The purpose of the College's Dean for America student organization is to help encourage young people to become more politically aware. "It is a responsibility and a right to vote. We're here not to force people to vote for Dean, but rather to help educate them on the issues at hand," said Feinberg. Co-founder Anna Kasupski '04 explained that the role of the organization is to offer a starting point for young people to voice their opinions.

"If you have energy and determination, and you believe strongly enough in your opinions, then that's really all you need," said Kasupski.

Clearly, young people across the country, and especially at Middlebury, are using their energy and determination to take the former Vermont governor's presidential campaign to the next level.