This article is the first in a two-part series about Tufts' presence as Barack Obama and John McCain were nominated by their respective parties. This installment will focus on students who were in Denver. The second one, which will be published tomorrow, will deal with participants' broader reflections about the historical and political significance of the events and about how America's political landscape has changed this election cycle.
When Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) became the first black man to accept the presidential nomination from a major political party last month, capping what has been a historic and contentious primary season with a soaring speech, sophomore Lucy Perkins sat watching in the front row.
Senior and political science major Christine Mumma stood nearby, behind the stage, trying not to look nervous as she stood next to Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and watched the speech.
Mumma and Perkins were part of a group of students who attended the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver this August as representatives for the College Democrats of America (CDA). The experience, which took them behind the scenes at one of the most watched political conventions in recent history, was one that any political junkie would die for.
"Everybody's there," said Perkins, who spent the week watching speeches and helping set up events. "Every person who you've seen on C-SPAN — they're all there. You can just walk past them in the hallway or see them sitting with their delegations."
Though she has interned in Washington, D.C., Perkins said her experience in Denver was on another level.
"I had never been in a place where there were that many important and well-known people, because everyone comes for that one week," she said. "It was exciting; everything happened so fast. You could walk by someone and not realize it until they had passed you."
As members of the CDA, college students like Perkins arrived in Denver the weekend before the formal convention began and held their own mock convention — complete with delegations from different schools' Democratic student groups, a nomination process and a keynote speech from Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.).
"We had our own convention speakers, workshops, parties, caucuses," Mumma said. "We actually had our own actual convention where we nominated a president and vice president … Each state had delegates based on the number of schools present."
The CDA students found a number of ways to get involved throughout the week and had behind-the-scenes access the whole time. Perkins helped run a fundraiser for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and spent much of her time handing out signs to supporters on the floor of the convention.
During Obama's acceptance speech, she found an opportunity that allowed her to watch from incredibly close to the stage.
"I don't know how I scored this, but it was my job to pass out the signs to the Illinois delegation, which is Obama's home state," Perkins said. "We had a lot of downtime, and when he spoke, we were allowed to crouch down right in the front row."
Mumma spent the entire day leading up to Obama's speech on-site at Invesco Field at Mile High.
"I also … volunteered and worked in Invesco Field for 12 hours the day of Obama's speech … It was great to volunteer because we got to be there the entire day and see the behind-the-scenes," she said. "Not only did we see the warm-ups and everybody setting up, but we were able to be there the entire day, from the moment [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.] called the convention to order."
The experience, Mumma said, rekindled her own career aspirations.
"I want to work in Washington, D.C., but I'm not sure in what capacity yet," Mumma said. "The convention was great. It kind of reaffirms that I made the right decision in what I want to do — that I'm really interested in it."
Tufts' presence at the convention extended beyond the CDA students — senior Matt Shapanka, who is the treasurer of the Tufts Community Union Senate, attended as an aide with the Massachusetts attorney general's office.
"I went with the attorney general of Massachusetts, [Martha Coakley]," Shapanka said. "I was involved in her campaign in 2006, and I've been close to her political activities since then."
He spent his week managing travel and event plans for Coakley.
"I worked a lot on advancing sites and making sure that she got from event to event," he said. "It was a lot of political work. I had a lot of fun, but I wasn't out there just to have fun."
But despite a grinding schedule, his experience had some lighter moments.
At one point, Shapanka said, a complication in the attorney general's transportation plans left her without a ride to her next event.
Improvising, he and the rest of Coakley's staff flagged down a rickshaw bicycle to transport her instead.
"Here you have a statewide elected official from Massachusetts, and she's riding across Denver in a rickshaw bicycle," he said, laughing. "It became my mission for the rest of a week to ride in a rickshaw bicycle myself."
The trio of Jumbos is still in awe of its opportunity to witness and take part in such a historic event.
"It was amazing just seeing all of the governors sitting there with their delegations," Perkins said. "Someone actually came up to me and asked me if the governor had sat down yet. I said, ‘Which one? They're all here!'"
"The whole thing was such a great story to tell," she continued. "There was so much that happened."
