University of Arkansas Fayetteville - Razorback Yearbook (Fayetteville, AR)

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PRESIDENTIAL RACE ■ STUDENTS SPLIT INTO RED AND BLUE AS THE 2008 ELECTION SEASON HEATED UR Wearing her bright pink hat and button, she enthusiastically stood by the table and handed out another registration form. The student filled it out and handed it back. One more young person had registered to vote. One more voice to shape the future of America. Registering others to vote was just one of many ways students campaigned for the Republican Party during the 2008 election. Brea Bartholomew, a sophomore drama and advertising public relations major, was a part of this and a number of additional activities supporting her desired presidential candidate. “I felt really strongly about John McCain,” Bartholomew said. ‘‘I’m a strong Christian, and I didn’t agree with some things Obama stood for. I had to stand up for what I believed.” Bartholomew was a part of College Republicans and not only helped register students to vote, but also campaigned in her own various ways. She wore a pink McCain hat twice a week, owned three different T-shirts that she donned several times and sported her button every day. Bartholomew was a Kappa Kappa Gamma and said she convinced several of her sorority sisters to register. ‘‘I felt like kids our age were the future,” she said. Bartholomew and other members of College Republicans received some negative attention during their rallies. ‘‘Fayetteville was naturally Democratic so we got some funky looks,” Bartholomew said.‘‘Most people just ignored us, but a few tried to argue with us.” However, Bartholomew said the organization got several freshmen to join College Republicans during some of the campaigns. Shelby Gragg, a sophomore agriculture business major, was also a member of College Republicans and joined the Washington County Republican Committee. He wore his McCain T-shirt several times and handed out stickers and flyers to support his candidate of choice. ‘‘Somebody had to do it,” Gragg said. ‘‘Most students didn’t get informed, they just voted. I wanted to inform them. I felt like it was one of the most important elections we had. It was going to affect our future to keep capitalists’ policies and socialists out.” Campaigning for the Republican Party continued to be popular throughout the election season. “If you didn’t vote, you can’t complain,” Gragg said.“I think all kids at the UA did a good job picking a side and fighting for it.” TEXT: RUSTY JESTER IMAGES: COURTESY

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■ STUDENT LIFE Change: the buzzword of the 2008 presidential election. Change was the concept invoked above all others, the word repeated so many times by both candidates that it threatened to become meaningless. Pundits devoted news program after news program to it, arguing for hours about who, if elected, would bring about the most change, as well as what those changes would be. At the UA campus, however, change began long before anyone was elected, even before anyone had voted. Suddenly, students were actually interested in the future of politics. Democrat student organizations such as the Young Democrats recognized this shift in enthusiasm and capitalized on it by hosting presidential debate watch parties and voter registration drives in an effort to, in the words of the Young Democrats Web site, “turn our state and our country blue.” Their success was tremendous. The Young Democrats alone reported registering more than 500 new voters, Democrats and Republicans alike. Young Democrats PresidentTori Adams said she was excited by the fresh activism she saw on both sides. “People kept coming out of the woodworks,” she said.“I’m glad to see that they aren’t leaving it to the political science people anymore.” IF YOU DIDN’T VOTE, U CAN’T COMPLAlft -SHELBY GRAGjF Robbi Jones, a second-year law student, said that although most of his time was spoken for, he devoted as much time as he could to the Young Democrats, due to his belief that “the Democratic Party is one that works for the best America that it can be.” Andrew Roberts’ political passion led him to Congress, where he worked for the Democratic Policy Committee. In 2008, he returned to the UA to complete his degree while serving as President of the Arkansas Students for Barack Obama chapter of the Obama Campaign. Roberts expressed his hope that student interest in government would not end after the presidential election was over. “It is essentially our future that is at stake over the next decade, and I am a firm believer that the greater the involvement of those who are governed is, the more careful and calculated the decisions of those who govern will be,” Roberts said. TEXT: JORDAN SOUSA 10

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STUDENT LIFE ZERO Newspapers covering the election left on campus I I Sljc Jsirtu JJork (times ggjjg OBAMA RACIAL BARRIER FALLS IN DECISIVE VICTORY NINE States changing parlies from 2004: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada Virginia 53% Popular Vote 365 Electoral Votes 71,400,000 in campaign donations