{"160451":{"#nid":"160451","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Students Campaign for President\u2019s Reelection","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile many students have been spending fall weekends at Bobby Dodd Stadium or the library, Maddie Cook and Vijai Narayanan have been spending their last semesters at Tech at an Obama for America field office in Jacksonville, Fla., in their efforts to get the 44th U.S. president elected for a second term.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENeither had campaigning experience, but after working as a White House information technology intern last fall for presidential correspondence \u2013 which included the privilege of reading much of the president\u2019s mail \u2013 Cook, a fifth-year international affairs and Spanish major, returned to Tech inspired. She was ready to motivate others to engage in the political process and even made her case in a \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/nique.net\/opinions\/2012\/03\/29\/voting-on-issues-necessary-for-techies\/\u0022\u003EMarch editorial for the Technique\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cApathy on our campus isn\u2019t appropriate when, in many cases, we are going to be implementing [government] policies,\u201d Cook said. During the spring, she worked with Obama for America to start the campus campaign group, Jackets for Obama, and was a planning committee volunteer at the Democratic National Convention in September.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENarayanan, a fifth-year mechanical engineering major who became a U.S. citizen last year, feels voting and civic engagement is an act of civic duty and a way to give back as a citizen, especially for Tech students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cStudents in science and engineering tend to feel isolated from the political world, even though it has an effect on their work,\u201d he said. \u201cThis election will likely affect your career in some way. Students need to recognize that, acknowledge it and become active.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia\u2019s electoral votes are predicted to go to the Republican Party, but the Obama campaign sees Georgia as a support state for Florida, which has more electoral votes and a more volatile voting history. To garner votes and volunteers, targeting a strategic list of eligible voters, the campaign uses phone banking to make calls and talk with people about their voting decision. Another tactic is going door to door to talk with voters in person, or canvassing, which has also been statistically shown to drive votes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWorking for the campaign in Florida has enabled Cook and Narayanan to meet students from other universities and even campaign on their campuses, giving them a chance to compare Tech\u2019s political climate to that of other universities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was surprised to hear how many students said they were already registered, and how many were willing to register at their school address to be able to vote there,\u201d Cook said of campaigning at the University of Florida. Narayanan noticed a leadership focus among political science students, but also attributed student awareness to Florida\u2019s highly charged political climate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough Florida students may be voting in a more contested state, student votes count no matter the geography.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech is so highly recognized on an international basis, and we should be able to be educated and speak out on the issues,\u201d said Cook, who hopes to continue to garner volunteers and encourage students to vote. \u201cNow\u2019s the time to get involved. We still have about 30 days, and a lot can change.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor students interested in the Democratic Party, Jackets for Obama will travel to Florida over fall break to continue campaign work with \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/311224238984885\/%20%20\u0022\u003EBreak for Barack\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAfter being involved in a campaign, I think everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime,\u201d Narayanan said. \u201cYou get an unfiltered view of the political system, and you see the campaign\u2019s strategies and how they view the electorate. It gives you tools to be a more informed voter.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo fifth-year students devote their last semesters at Tech to the presidential election.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Two fifth-year students devote their last semesters at Tech to the presidential election."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2012-10-08 14:33:21","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:54","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"160481":{"id":"160481","type":"image","title":"Vijai Narayanan Campaigns for Obama","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894794","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:34","alt":"Vijai Narayanan Campaigns for Obama","file":{"fid":"195396","name":"p1000946.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/p1000946_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/p1000946_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2921984,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/p1000946_0.jpg?itok=hvRLg8rE"}},"160471":{"id":"160471","type":"image","title":"Maddie Cook Attends Democratic National Convention","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894794","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:34","alt":"Maddie Cook Attends Democratic National Convention","file":{"fid":"195395","name":"dscn2988_-_version_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn2988_-_version_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn2988_-_version_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1901977,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dscn2988_-_version_2_0.jpg?itok=i8p9SpDv"}},"160731":{"id":"160731","type":"image","title":"Students Attend Florida Campus Leader Retreat","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894796","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:36","alt":"Students Attend Florida Campus Leader Retreat","file":{"fid":"195408","name":"640x360_1481.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/640x360_1481_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/640x360_1481_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":99264,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/640x360_1481_0.jpg?itok=69pmHcOn"}}},"media_ids":["160481","160471","160731"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JacketsforObama","title":"Jackets for Obama"},{"url":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/wreckthevote","title":"Wreck the Vote"},{"url":"http:\/\/sos.ga.gov\/elections","title":"Georgia Elections"},{"url":"http:\/\/gtrepublicans.com\/","title":"Georgia Tech College Republicans"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TechDems","title":"College Democrats of Georgia Tech"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"9475","name":"elections"},{"id":"44241","name":"jackets for obama"},{"id":"3177","name":"politics"},{"id":"169524","name":"student politics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}