By
Tim Ayers
Associate Editor
This weekend, students from all over New England convened at Bates for a Youth
Leadership School hosted by the Maine College Republicans and run by the Leadership
Institute based in Washington DC. The well-attended event provided training
for students desiring to help on a political campaign.
The event was organized by the President of the Bates Republicans Andrew Simon
and Vice President Oli Wolf. A part of the Maine College Republicans 2004 Victory
Plan, Wolf began organizing the event last fall by contacting the Leadership
Institute. He also contacted college republican groups around New England, inviting
students to attend.
According to Wolf, the Republicans in attendance came from all over, including
20 students from Connecticut, one from South Dakota, students from 11 different
Maine colleges, local high school students, and more than half a dozen from
Bates. The seminars took place in the Muskie Archives, and it cost 60 dollars
to register for the event.
The two-day event ran all day on both Saturday and Sunday, and featured several
nationally known instructors. The instructors were all associated with the Leadership
Institute, and included the treasurer of the College National Republican Committee,
a consultant for a Washington DC based lobbying firm, and a former Maine State
representative who graduated from the Institute. One of the speakers declined
to comment, saying she did not want to distract attention from the students
in attendance, as it is the students who the program is designed to serve.
Wolf spoke highly of all the instructors, saying, “[they] used their experience
as young conservatives to articulate the lessons well of getting involved in
the youth movement.” He also spoke highly of guest speaker Jan Staples,
who is a Maine’s national committeewoman to the Republican National Committee
and talked about the broader importance of getting involved in the political
process.
The agenda for the two days included most aspects of how to successfully run
a campaign, right down to the smallest details, including what Andrew Simon
describes as “knowing which side of your shirt to put your nametag.”
Other events included voter canvassing and registration, mock elections, and
a crisis simulation, which occurred as the last event on Sunday. Wolf described
the participation in the crisis simulation as demonstrating the enthusiasm of
all the students in attendance.
Simon reiterated Wolf’s statements about the commitment of the students
in attendance, saying, “The level of enthusiasm was astounding. For two
days, over sixty young Republicans dedicated their weekend to learning how to
run effective political campaigns. And these sixty kids will return to their
college or high school campuses and make a real difference, and help get Republicans
elected across the board.”
The ultimate goal of the program is for students to utilize their new skills,
both on and off campus. Simon describes the benefits students received from
the training: “What we all took away from the Leadership Institute is
immediately applicable to increasing a conservative presence on college campuses.
But the lessons learned are not specific to running mass-based youth campaigns.
If used successfully, the Leadership Institute comprehensive plan can positively
affect multitudes of situations.”
Oli Wolf is an example of the type of student the Leadership Institute aims
to attract, as he is volunteering on President Bush’s reelection campaign.
The Leadership Institute was founded in 1979 by Morton C. Blackwell, and according
to their website, the goal of their nationwide program is to “increase
the number and effectiveness of conservative public policy leaders” and
it has trained more than 30,000 students since its inception.
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