Barack in front of a huge crowd at the University of Montana in Missoula
Pennsylvania Students Gear Up for April 22nd PrimaryBy Luke MessacWith almost 700,000 college students across Pennsylvania, the youth vote will be a key factor in the April 22nd Democratic primary. On over 70 college campuses around the state, SFBO chapters are turning heads and winning new supporters. Mia Prensky, a 21-year-old at Bryn Mawr College, talked to SFBO members as they handed out stickers and information about Senator Obama's position on Iraq. Finding herself in agreement with Obama on the war — a central issue for her in this election — Prensky told the Associated Press that he would have her vote.Mia is not alone, as students from across the nation see Obama as the candidate most attuned to their hopes and concerns. A recent poll conducted by Gallup and the Chronicle of Higher Education shows that when asked which candidate would do more to help families deal with rising college tuition costs, more Americans between the ages of 18 and 22 chose Obama than Clinton and McCain combined. Barack Obama's attention to young people is one of the reasons why he has won the student vote by overwhelming margins in this year's primaries and caucuses. As Scott Keeter, director of survey research for the Pew Research Center, observes, "I cannot recall another candidate in the past couple of decades that had such consistent support from young people."Dave Matthews in Bloomington, IN
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds played an acoustic set in front of a crowd of 13,500 at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN to promote voter registration and support for Senator Obama. To read Dave Matthews’ endorsement posted on his website, click here. Asked by Rolling Stone why he is supporting Senator Obama, Matthews responded, “It’s a quality he has that seems to elevate the people around him… the most important qualification a candidate can possess is being able to inspire people to want to do things for their country.” For a more in-depth look at why he is supporting Senator Obama, read the entire Rolling Stone interview here. In Other News…
Senator Obama enjoyed an enormous crowd at the University of Montana in Missoula on Saturday. Paul Donaldson, who works at the University of Montana in Missoula setting up sound and stage at the Adams Center, says that he’s never seen anything like what happened two days ago. Students began lining up for the event at midnight even though Barack wouldn’t be there until 10 p.m. Donaldson said, “This is history.” To read the entire story in the Great Falls Tribune, click here.
Barack wins a mock Democratic Convention at St. Francis University in Loretto, PA, with 60 percent of the vote. Read more here.Teens are fired up in Lancaster County, PA.
When I asked what Barack’s inspiration could do to help the country, Brenda struck a broad note …
One of the biggest things is the change that he could make in a whole general sense. He brings a different view not just to politics, but to the American culture. His speeches are about us, about the American people. He doesn’t just carry on about what he did and who he is, that’s where he’s different. What I think would happen are very great changes.
Brenda believes that the strength of a campaign, and this campaign in particular, comes from the ground up. The first thing we must do to make lasting change in America is to engage ourselves in its politics. This belief has been and remains the cornerstone of our campaign. Many people have already given and shared their own story with us. If you would like to become a part of this campaign, and want to be eligible for a chance to have “Dinner with Barack,” please donate by 11:59 PM EST tonight.
By Marc PetersFocus on: Oregon
Oregon has five active Students for Barack Obama chapters: University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Lane Community College, Lewis & Clark College. Three of the chapters each have over 500 members.
Believing in a participatory democracy, the University of Oregon and Lane Community College just helped organize a rally for Senator Obama on Friday, March 21st. Over 10,000 people showed up for the event.
The SFBO chapters have organized multiple phonebanks and registered 1,750 new voters. They also hosted a "Barackapella" concert in Portland. Video of the group performing an a cappella version of the song "Yes We Can" has drawn over 50,000 views on YouTube.
Focus on: Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has 35 official SFBO chapters, and has registered over 5,000 new voters in the state. In addition, they have organized over 150 phonebanks.
The Baltimore Sun recently chronicled Obama's appeal to PA students. They looked particularly at a campaign event in Pittsburgh:
Hundreds of people huddled around a pair of loudspeakers, apparently mesmerized by a disembodied voice. These hardy souls, blowing into cups of coffee, shoulders hunched against the chill, were just a few of the people who couldn't get tickets to see Obama in person. University students, administrative staff, restaurant employees, retail workers, faculty members -- they were all settling for the next best thing.
In SFBO Other News
ASU reports on how Obama joins star power with political will.A new SFBO chapter starts at East Carolina University.
Stephanie is a Middle School Guidance Counselor in rural North Carolina. Yesterday she told me about why she decided to support Barack …
I feel the vision… I see the honesty that he brings, the integrity that he brings. I am a school counselor and live in a rural area; my kids are not afforded a lot of opportunity, and I think he’s going to make a change … He has remained calm through the storm of the campaign, and gives a message of hope. He is young, energetic, and someone that my middle school students can identify with when dealing with adversity.
Stephanie sees the downturn in the economy hurting her community, particularly difficult since many of her students already aren’t provided the kinds of breaks that other, more affluent students often are.
She says, “a lot of my students come from single parent homes, some without as many role models as they could use.” Still, Barack provides them with this kind of role model, and again she reiterated that “he gives this great sense of hope, that he really wants to make the change” that can help her kids ...
If he is able to do what he’s talking about in making college affordable, it allows me to keep preaching to my kids that if they work all of them can go to college …otherwise, these parents are having enough trouble feeding and clothing the kids, and the students see that their parents can’t afford to pay for them to go to college … And I won’t be able to be straight with them and tell them that.
Barack wants to work to make college affordable for every student in America. To read about Barack’s education plan, click here. To read about his plan to support rural communities, click here.
If you are inspired by Barack's message of hope, as Stephanie is, please consider donating. If you donate by tonight at 11:59 PM EST, you'll be eligible for a chance to have “Dinner with Barack.” And don’t forget to share your story with us.
Meet Susan …
Susan is a retired homemaker from Lock Haven, PA. While she is concerned with a number of issues in the upcoming election, she says that what really draws her to Barack is “that he appeals to young voters who have been sitting back” in recent elections. She also “really enjoyed the matching donation program,” which is what first drew her to donate to the campaign…
I had never seen that before… It makes you feel like your small donation goes a little further… and then you don’t just donate, you get a note back that shows there are lots of other people out there wanting to give, even if it’s just a little bit.
Susan is a mother and a grandmother, and told me that her 10 year old granddaughter is a big Obama supporter who is “very interested in the election.” Susan's entire family drove thirty five miles to see Barack speak at State College today.
Meet Diana . . .Diana has taught at public schools in Cleveland, Ohio for 18 years. As a techer, she's very concerned with what has happened to our education system over the past seven years, particularly with No Child Left Behind…
Children have been overtested. You can see the frustration in their faces … they’re not getting the help that they really need. What it's doing is showing them what they lack, rather than what we can do to give them the resources to actually improve.
Diana is also worried about the economy and how she’ll be able to make ends meet, but she sees Barack Obama as an individual who can make needed changes …
This nation has been so bruised, it's time for Americans to pick themselves back up again… to do the things that we do best. And Barack Obama is that type of person. He can bring us new ideas …
In this election, Diana believes that we need to pick a leader who can mobilize the nation to fix our problems — in education, the economy, and elsewhere. To read Barack's plan to reform No Child Left Behind and expand educational opportunities for all children, click here.
And if you feel inspired, as Diana and Susan were, to help make these ideas reality, please consider donating and sharing your own story. If you make your donation by 11:59 pm EST on Monday night, you could win the chance to share it at "Dinner with Barack."
Rhonda and her husband are truck drivers who live in Indianapolis, Indiana. She described why she joined the profession seven years ago …
I would be working on a line in the factory, and work my way up so that I'd be making a little bit of money, and then the factory would shut down, ship off overseas. And then, because it's based on seniority, I'd go to another factory and be making five, six, or seven dollars an hour again.
Seeing that "we'll always need people driving trucks" in this country, she made the decision to "take the little amount I had saved in my 401(k) and go to truck driving school." She's been doing that now for seven years, though now she finds herself with less "miles per run," meaning she has to work longer to make the same amount of money as before. She has health insurance, but "it feels like I pay into it every week, even though when something happens the insurance comes up with some excuse and I end up paying an 80% premium rather than the 20%."Rhonda says that "when I hear Barack speak, I have hope." She continued, "I understand that people should all be well educated and be able to use new technologies … but not everyone had the money or the time to do that, and those of us that didn't, rely on blue collar jobs — good paying blue collar jobs." She said she feels like our government is often run by "money changing hands behind closed doors," and fears that this makes it easy for our leaders to lose sight of what matters to the American people.
Even though she may not have lots of money, Rhonda decided to give something to support Barack's campaign because she hopes for a better future. She readily admits that Barack has "no magic wand" to make these issues go away, but concluded our conversation by saying that "maybe he can start to make a dent … start to turn things around for the average Joe."If you feel strongly about the need to turn things around, like Rhonda does, please consider making your own donation and sharing your story. If you make a donation by Monday night at 11:59 PM EST, you could have a chance to share your story at "Dinner with Barack."
According to a comprehensive survey by Student Life, the Wash. U. in St. Louis independent student newspaper, Senator Obama is still highly favored among Wash. U.'s student body. In Student Life's poll, Senator Obama would beat John McCain by a mark of 78.1% to 18.5% among students if the election were held today.
The poll asked students to indicate which of the remaining three candidates they felt would be most capable of dealing with a number of the country's most pressing problems, including the economy, the war in Iraq, education, poverty, immigration, and others. For every single issue students chose Senator Obama as the most capable leader.
You can read more, and see some cool graphs, here.
Happy St. Patrick's Day from Students for Obama!
Sen. Obama speaking in front of a crowd of 9,000 at Jackson State University on Monday, March 10th. The next day Sen. Obama won the Mississippi primary overwhelmingly, including taking some 73 percent of all votes from 17-29 year olds, according to MSNBC exit polls.
The Pennsylvania Ground Game
By Justin Charity
Legions of loyal supporters have begun spreading the energy of our movement to the doorsteps of Pennsylvania. Following our recent victories in Wyoming and Mississippi, volunteers throughout the state are canvassing Pennsylvania’s political landscape in search of new supporters. The Philadelphia Inquirer offered up its own critique of Obama’s organizational efforts in the state:
While Obama's goal is to expand the Democratic electorate in Pennsylvania, Clinton is hardly as focused on doing the same. The New York senator's campaign said it had no similar voter-registration drive because that is not central to its strategy; Clinton has done better in closed-primary states, so it is not a necessity for her to lure independents, Republicans or new voters.
With Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary soon approaching, our campaign is crafting a competitive ground game to bolster our prospects in the state, and to bring new voters into the process, just as we’ve done across this country throughout the course of this campaign:
A key target are the state's 35 largest colleges, where, the campaign estimates, 327,000 undergraduates are up for grabs. Dozens of organizers have been dispatched to secure those voters.Temple Students for Barack Obama, for instance, is a campaign-sanctioned group with "dorm leaders" and "dorm captains" responsible for visiting every residence hall to find new voters.
A key target are the state's 35 largest colleges, where, the campaign estimates, 327,000 undergraduates are up for grabs. Dozens of organizers have been dispatched to secure those voters.
Temple Students for Barack Obama, for instance, is a campaign-sanctioned group with "dorm leaders" and "dorm captains" responsible for visiting every residence hall to find new voters.
On April 22nd, it’s all eyes on Pennsylvania, and we’ve begun to lay the groundwork another grassroots movement in the making. Read the full Philadelphia Enquirer article here.
State College Office Opening
Jay Paterno and members of the Penn State Football Team will be joining Obama Staff, community members, and student leaders in opening the new Obama office tomorrow, March 18th, at 5:30pm. The office is located at 224 S. Allen St., and everyone is encouraged to attend.
In Other News…
Students for Obama chapters at Universities in Northeastern PA are organizing for the voter registration drive. You can read about it here. And Penn State students have a huge registration goal, which you can read about here.
Sen. Obama was in Indiana last week, speaking at Plainfield High School, where he spoke on issues of college affordability and a more united country. Read more about it from the Indiana Daily Student here.
We received this letter on Saturday. Thank you Jamie.
Dear Barack:
I am but 13 and I am already into politics and your movement in this country. I am a huge fan of not only you, but your point of view and your stance on the things our country cares about most. I believe all Americans my age need to know about politics and be involved with politics because it is our future that is at stake by the decisions of Americans made now. I really do hope you are America's president in next January, because I believe in Change. I am so excited about the results of the actual election and I have faith that you can make it. I am very happy our country has come to the point where America can handle and accept an African American president. I wish you the most of luck and faith in this campaign and hopefully your future responsibility of being President of the United States of America. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jamie L.
Watch John Legend Talk About Sen. Obama on Colbert!On Thursday, John Legend was on the Colbert Report and spoke about why he supports Senator Obama, what “Yes We Can” is all about, and the meaning of true patriotism. He also does a kind of duet-battle over lady liberty with Stephen Colbert. Check it all out here. Rolling Stone Endorses Senator ObamaBy Kim Ahern
In an unprecedented move, Rolling Stone has endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President! The most recent edition of Rolling Stone features two pieces on Senator Obama. The first, "The Machinery of Hope," profiles the incredible grassroots operation that we have been able to build in just one year. It describes what has been happening over the past year not so much as a campaign for Senator Obama to become President Obama, but as a wholly grassroots movement, a mechanism for people to empower themselves. This includes the activity of Students for Barack Obama:
"Steve Hildebrand, in shaping the campaign strategy from the outset, saw that there was an amazing opportunity here with Barack and young people," says Riemer (National Youth Vote Director). Turnout has been astonishing: In Iowa, as many people under thirty caucused as did senior citizens. In every contest, the youth vote has at least doubled and often tripled previous records. Riemer is quick to point out that these successes aren't just the result of the campaign organizing young people but of young people organizing themselves. "When I arrived at the Obama campaign," he says, "there were 175 Students for Barack Obama chapters already in existence" — a group that had started on Facebook in 2006 before morphing into a sophisticated grass-roots organization. "My responsibility was to nurture it and work with them on their political strategy."
The second piece, "A New Hope," goes on to provides Rolling Stone’s endorsement of Senator Obama. Among other things, the article focuses on his unique ability to bring people together in our country:
We need to send a message to ourselves and to the world that we truly do stand for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And in electing an African-American, we also profoundly renounce an ugliness and violence in our national character that have been further stoked by our president in these last eight years.
Like Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama challenges America to rise up, to do what so many of us long to do: to summon ‘the better angels of our nature.’
In Other News…Our own Kimberly Ahern was selected to be a delegate to the National Convention in Denver from Rhode Island last Tuesday. She is a law student at Roger Williams University and received the third most votes among any of Senator Obama’s delegates in the state. You can read more about it here.As we reported earlier in the week, the University of Pennsylvania College Democrats endorsed Senator Obama last week and committed to working hard towards his victory in the PA Democratic Primary on April 22nd. Read more here.Students in North Carolina are already excited about their May 6th primary, and are organizing a huge voter registration drive in anticipation of it. The News & Record in Greensboro, NC reports (link) that January and February saw 5000 new voters register in Guilford County, with over one third of new voters to register being under the age of 25.Thank you to those students who traveled from distances both near and far to help out in the primaries over the past week. You can read about a few student groups that traveled to help here and here.
By Kim Ahern
In an unprecedented move, Rolling Stone has endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President! The most recent edition of Rolling Stone features two pieces on Senator Obama. The first profiles the incredible grassroots operation that we have been able to build in just one year, including Students for Barack Obama:
…the campaign has granted Rolling Stone rare access to its top strategists and organizers, who discussed in detail the mechanics of Obama's meteoric ascendancy. According to David Axelrod, the campaign's chief strategist, the bottom-up ethos of the campaign comes straight from the top. "When we started this race, Barack told us that he wanted the campaign to be a vehicle for involving people and giving them a stake in the kind of organizing he believed in," Axelrod says. "He is still the same guy who came to Chicago as a community organizer twenty-three years ago. The idea that we can organize together and improve our country — I mean, he really believes that.
The second piece goes on to provides Rolling Stone’s endorsement of Senator Obama. Among other things, the article focuses on his unique ability to bring people together in our country:
Get your copy of Rolling Stone today!
Members of Arcade Fire including Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, Jeremy Gara, and Sarah Neufeld will hold two free concerts support of Senator Obama tomorrow, March 2nd and Monday the 3rd. The concert tomorrow will be held in Nelsonville, OH starting at 7:00 p.m. at Stuart’s Opera House. The concert Monday will be in Cleveland at the Beachland Ballroom starting at 8 p.m. Colin Stetson will be opening the concerts. See Pitchfork for more information.
The Marshall University chapter of Students for Barack Obama has seen its numbers grow dramatically in recent months. According to the University’s paper, the Marshall Parthenon, the group now numbers some 270 members and counting, up from just four a few months ago. And now the group is putting those new members to use, preparing to help the campaign by traveling to Ohio and joining in the One Million for Change canvass this weekend, when we hope to knock on one million doors all across Ohio to get out the vote for Senator Obama on March 4th.
To get involved with the campaign in Ohio and be a part of the historic One Million for Change canvass, visit us at ohio.barackobama.com.
On Tuesday, the Houston Chronicle explored the continuing impact of young voters on this primary election, and their likely impact come November:
For young voters expected to have a large impact on the remaining presidential primaries, this political season is about change. It’s about the future.
Most of these voters, according to polls, support Barack Obama. The impact that young voters are expected to have will be very significant. According to pollster John Zogby, approximately 20 percent of voters in November will be from the youth bloc, but he says, “if Obama is the candidate, it’s conceivable that young voters will make up 25 percent of the vote.”
This suggests that not only is the importance of this particular election motivating young people to come out and vote, but that young voters recognize the importance of this candidate, at this time, to make the kind of change our country needs.
According to estimates made by CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), over 220,000 people aged 18-29 came out to vote yesterday in Wisconsin's presidential primary. As we've already noted on this blog, a strong majority of those came out in support of Barack Obama.
However, it is also important to look at the turnout by itself. According to CIRCLE's exit polling, the nearly 176,000 young voters who participated in the Democratic primary constituted 16% of the total voters, up almost 50% from 2004, when this age bloc made up only 11% of all Democratic primary voters. CIRCLE's director, Peter Levine, had this to say:
Since 2000, young people have been volunteering at high rates and are becoming more interested in news and public affairs. Now they are ready to consider voting as a way of addressing major problems...[young voters] are beginning to make their distinctive and lasting mark on American politics.
Students have been heading to the polls today in Wisconsin to vote for Senator Obama.
Here are a few pictures:
Our Madison, Wisconsin campaign office looked a lot like a movie set this past weekend, with 'Superman Returns' star Brendan Routh and 'Harold and Kumar' star Kal Penn stopping by to show their support. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's student publication, the Daily Cardinal, covered the celebrity drop-in from this past Thrusday:
“Superman Returns” stars Brandon Routh and Kal Penn shared how Obama has inspired them with a crowd of students and community members gathered among laundry machines.
“I have never been as inspired by anyone probably since my grandparents marched with Gandhi,” Penn said.
A self-identified cynic and Independent, Penn became an Obama supporter after the presidential hopeful’s inspirational keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Routh encouraged students to put aside political apathy and get involved in the political process. “This is not really politics we’re talking about, this is an investment in my future,” Routh said.
Routh and Penn helped to demonstrate that anyone can make a difference, so long as they're willing to put in the time, the dedication, and some good, old-fashioned hard work:
Penn said he enjoys knocking on doors because he can talk to people one on one and hear their concerns. “They’re the ones that support the stuff that we do, you know, they’re the ones who watch our TV shows and buy our DVDs,” Penn said. “Without that I certainly wouldn’t have the type of health care that I hope that they have with a new president.”
Celebrities or not, we can all make a difference. Read the full article here.
A new USA Today poll came out today that shows that as young voters are focusing on the presidential race, they are shifting to Barack Obama. Barack now garners support from young voters at a nearly 2-1 basis.
It is also worth noting the poll found that most voters in both parties seek a leader who will "chart a new course," something that Senator Obama has been advocating from the start of his campaign and that has inspired many people--in particular young people--to become politically involved at record levels.
By Luke Messac
The wires are abuzz: after months of media speculation about whether students could help deliver Obama a victory in the Iowa caucuses, caucus returns confirm beyond the shadow of a doubt just how potent the youth vote is. Here are some earth-shattering numbers to ponder:
Turnout among Democratic caucus-goers under 25 more than doubled between 2004 and 2008. Click here for more information.
While overall caucus turnout for Democrats increased 90% between 2004 and 2008, turnout Democratic voters under 25 increased 135%. Click here for more information. According to entrance polling conducted by the Associated Press, Obama won 57% of votes among caucus-goers aged 17-29. Click here for more information. According to Congressional Quarterly reporter Greg Giroux, Obama won 9 of the 10 Iowa counties with the lowest median age, including Story and Johnson counties, home to Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, respectively. Click here for more information.
While overall caucus turnout for Democrats increased 90% between 2004 and 2008, turnout Democratic voters under 25 increased 135%. Click here for more information.
According to entrance polling conducted by the Associated Press, Obama won 57% of votes among caucus-goers aged 17-29. Click here for more information.
According to Congressional Quarterly reporter Greg Giroux, Obama won 9 of the 10 Iowa counties with the lowest median age, including Story and Johnson counties, home to Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, respectively. Click here for more information.
The country is sitting up and taking notice while the press scrambles to document the momentous changes before their eyes. Students for Barack Obama chapters around the nation have awoken a slumbering giant, never to be quieted again. Keep up the good work, SFBO!
"Barack Obama has the vision and courage America needs to get abck on track. He is the only candidate who will make our government work the way it should, and this campaign is a movement I had to be a part of."
