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Students garner support to give campaigns push for midterm election

Members of Bruin Democrats had a phone banking session Tuesday to help Sandra Fluke’s campaign. (Austin Yu/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Jeong Park

Oct. 10, 2014 2:24 a.m.

Francisco Castaneda’s goal for Thursday was just getting one person to pledge support for Ben Allen, a candidate for state Senate.

No one picked up Castaneda’s first phone call, so he left a voicemail. There were about 17,000 more calls to make for the campaign.

“Sometimes, you don’t even get one ‘yes,'” said Castaneda, a fourth-year political science student working for Allen’s campaign.

As the midterm election on Nov. 4 draws closer, UCLA students have been learning to campaign for candidates they support. As Allen, a lecturer at the UCLA School of Law, faces Sandra Fluke, a lawyer, students are going into the field and talking with residents in the district.

Even in the 2012 presidential election, individuals aged 18 to 24 had the lowest voter turnout, with just 31.7 percent of eligible youth voting, according to the California Secretary of State. As young individuals move often, either for work or for college, they often do not register to vote at their new addresses, they often neglect to register.

With few competitive races at the state level, many anticipate the voter turnout to dip further next month. Yet some students not only choose to vote, but they also choose to be active players in the election.

Students typically campaign for candidates by calling voters or going to voters’ homes. They also volunteer at events hosted by candidates, such as organizing fundraisers or receptions.

Elise Jiang, a third-year political science student, is one of those students working for Allen’s campaign.

Working at phone banks or campaign events does come with risks. When she was handing out fliers outside the voting booth during the primary election in June, somebody took a picture of her, thinking she was violating a law that prohibits any campaigning within 100 feet of the voting booth.

“He said, ‘See you in the mug shot,'” Jiang said.

Jiang said she heard about the campaign from a class on American politics she took in spring, when campaign staff recruited students to join.

“(The staff) made it sound like this was a really good opportunity,” she said.

Jiang has remained enthusiastic about the campaign, encouraging her classmates to join. When her roommate came back from Shanghai in the fall, Jiang convinced her roommate to join Allen’s campaign.

Students supporting Fluke are conducting phone banks and other usual activities as well, but they are also looking toward some unusual tactics to gain support for Fluke.

On Wednesday night, second-year political science student Gabbi Martinez held a clipboard and a bag over her shoulder, shaking a little as she knocked on a door to a room in Dykstra Hall.

“We are kind of creeping everyone out,” Martinez said.

Walking around the halls, she was anxious about talking to strangers. Yet she felt she had to gain support for Fluke because she liked Fluke’s progressive background.

Martinez, a volunteer working for Fluke’s campaign, had done phone banking before. She helped Fluke’s campaign staff and members of Bruin Democrats, which endorses Fluke, conduct phone banking Tuesday. However, she said she wanted to try a different route from phone banking or canvassing. She wanted to reach college students where they live.

So-called “dorm storming,” or campaigning within residential buildings, is not uncommon at UCLA, though it is usually done for student government elections. On-campus housing regulations prohibit dorm storming unless it is for a program sponsored by the Office of Residential Life or Residents’ Association.

For that reason, when Martinez and Colin Hernandez, a field organizer for Fluke’s campaign, started campaigning Wednesday night, Hernandez asked Martinez to point out where the floor’s resident assistant lives.

At first, students didn’t open their doors or refused to register to vote. After a few knocks, Hernandez found a student interested in the election, and he quickly went through his pitches for Fluke.

Although Martinez peered over Hernandez for a few moments, Martinez eventually started knocking on doors on her own.

“I gotta let you fly,” Hernandez said.

So Martinez knocked. She knocked again, then again. But there was no answer. She stood in front of each door, holding a smile and waiting for a response that, again, never came.

After going through a few rooms, Martinez finally got a response, but it was nothing more than “no, thanks.” Hernandez was more hopeful.

“At least we got students informed about Fluke,” Hernandez said.

Martinez smiled again and moved on. After a few tries, Martinez finally got someone to register to vote. Then, one “yes” led to another, and Martinez showed more confidence. When students asked her about Fluke, Martinez made a pitch with a smile, listing Fluke’s stance on different issues and organizations that endorsed her.

Although Martinez and Hernandez imagined covering more floors, they stop after covering two floors as the clock reached close to 10 p.m. They had registered more than a dozen students to vote, with five by Martinez. A few had also signed up on the mailing list.

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Jeong Park | Alumnus
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