By: Danielle Cort
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Tocco-Greenaway
Nichole Warren ’10, Dorothy Softner ’10, Abby Majlak ’09, MTV News Anchor Gideon Yago, Samantha Grover ’09, Courtney Coan ’10, and Danielle Brazil ’09 in front of the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, N.H.
Photo credit: Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Tocco-Greenaway
Bottom (L to R): Danielle Brazil ’09, Nichole Warren ’10, Dorothy Sofner ’10, Courtney Coan ’10 Top (L to R): John Michaels ’09, Emila Shosho ’09, Abby Majlak ’09, Dr. Tocco-Greenaway, Justin Pethick ’08, and Samantha Grover ’09 at the College Convention
“We’re our own little breed of people,” said junior Samantha Grover as she described the familial environment of Salve Regina University’s Politics Department. “Once we get rolling on something, it’s hard to get us to stop.”
And it was passion like that that led Grover to meet some of the White House’s top contenders for the Presidency. Back in November, Grover, accompanied by politics professor Dr. Donna Tocco-Greenaway and other students in the politics department, attended College Convention 2008 in Manchester, N.H. The convention gave the students, and other politics students nationwide, the opportunity to participate in discussion forums with presidential candidates and attend seminars with public policy experts on “hot topics” such as immigration, health care and economic issues. Bringing politics to life, College Convention 2008 allowed students and faculty to bond and set a framework for what’s to come in this year’s polls. Present at the Convention were Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Joe Biden and Sen. Lindsey Graham speaking on behalf on Sen. John McCain. Sen. Hillary Clinton was a no-show, riling a disappointed crowd. Around the same time of the Convention, there was a serious hostage situation at the Rochester, N.H. headquarters of the Clinton campaign, placing her priorities elsewhere. But the candidates weren’t the only ones running the show. MTV’s Gideon Yago and Ben Cohen of “Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream” showed up, leaving lasting impressions. Cohen even used large, fake Oreo chips to describe the country’s economic imbalance. Between discussions like these and small, intimate forums with the candidates, College Convention 2008 offered a pathway to further student involvement in the presidential political process. As Dr. Tocco-Greenaway noted, it is “one of the most unpredictable presidential races in years!” Students were also given the opportunity to voluntarily sign on as “grass roots” campaign workers for their favorite presidential candidates for future events. Sophomore Nicole Warren seized this opportunity and campaigned for Clinton before the New Hampshire primary and recently, for Senator Barack Obama in Massachusetts. Senior Justin Pethick was given a chance to represent Sen. John McCain and Sen. Joe Biden (who was still a candidate at the time). These opportunities are immeasurable and help greatly in a student’s political advancement after college – especially to those seeking jobs on “The Hill,” said Tocco-Greenaway. What’s the buzz around campus? Grover’s favorite candidate is Clinton, and not because she is a woman. As Grover puts it, “She’s a brilliant politician. Assertive, aggressive.if she was a man doing what she was doing, there would be a different reaction (from the public).” As Clinton’s saying goes, “It took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush, it’ll take another Clinton to clean up after the second Bush.” Grover hopes that if Clinton does make it into the White House, the country can start to see a middle-class and heightened budget surplus as when husband, Bill, was in office. “Right now,” Grover said, “it’s just the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.” So what is the politics department doing now? With junior and senior thesis presentations and events coming up, the department has little time to relax. Grover is working to start a Pre-Law Club while also managing the department’s newest club, “College Democrats on Campus.” The first meeting took place on “Super Tuesday” and will now be held every Monday night, 8 p.m. in the Wakehurst Lounge. Many students at Salve are feeling the political itch. And while not everyone agrees on who our country’s next leader should be, there is one thing everyone can agree on: It won’t be George Bush. On behalf of the faculty and students of Salve Regina University’s Politics Department, Dr. Tocco-Greenaway and Samantha Grover would like to extend their gratitude to the University for sponsoring the students’ trip to College Convention 2008 during such a historic, Presidential race.
