While thousands of University of Wisconsin students lounged around during winter break, K.J. Hansmann left for Des Moines, Iowa, the day after Christmas to help volunteer in preparation for the Iowa caucuses.
?It was still pretty cool to be there,? Hansmann said. ?I had never actually seen a caucus before. I actually always thought they were kind of crazy, so I was really excited about getting the opportunity to go and take part in it.?
College Democrats, Students for Obama, Students for Hillary and Students for John Edwards sent members to the caucus to help campaign and show support for their candidates.
?Everyone there was constantly on the trail,? College Democrats Chair Oliver Kiefer said. ?The candidates were there to ask questions and shake hands. It was unlike any other environment.?
Many groups spent time working with the locals in Iowa, encouraging them to go to the polls and vote in the caucuses.
?We did some canvassing ? which is going door-to-door and talking to people individually, persuading them and giving them information,? said Pasha Sternberg, co-chair of Students for Hillary. ?We also did some phone banking, encouraging people to get out and vote.?
Volunteers were sent to various parts of the state including Des Moines, Dubuque and Clinton, depending on the location of party and candidate headquarters. They were there to help prepare for the night of the caucus.
?The night of the caucus, we were all split up and assigned to a precinct,? said Ben Taft, co-chair of Students for John Edwards. ?We went and sat in on the caucus as observers and met our precinct captains. We helped to make sure everything went smoothly.?
Sitting in on the caucus was one of the most exciting things the volunteers were able to do at the event, Hansmann said.
?I got to see a debate about the candidates,? Hansmann said. ?[The people] got up and talked about why they were supporting each candidate.?
The outcome of the vote left many groups hopeful about the race to come. Although U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., won the Democratic vote, Sternberg and Taft were happy with the close race.
?In Iowa, we came in a strong second,? Taft said. ?[Edwards] beat Hillary and came in second to Obama, which is better than other candidates. The way things are looking, this could go any way, and we are going to work really hard on this final push until the Wisconsin primaries.?
Although College Democrats has yet to officially endorse a candidate, the group is still volunteering with the overall Democratic campaign.
?The main thing is to promote voter turnout, to get as many [people as possible],? Kiefer said. ?We want to make it clear when people should vote, how to vote, where to vote and what the party stands for.?
College Republicans Chair Sara Mikolajczak said educating people on the ideas of the party is most important right now. The group will not endorse a candidate until after the primaries, she added.
Students for Obama Chair Ami ElShareif was very pleased with the turnout of the 2008 Iowa Caucus.
