Political clubs teach about caucuses
USU College Republicans and Students for Liberty sponsored a free caucus and delegate training session Thursday, teaching students and attendees how to become a Republican delegate in the Utah caucus.
Several participants filled seats in Room 130 of the Eccles Science Learning Center to receive information regarding the delegate selection process, precincts in Logan and the responsibilities of being a Utah delegate.
“We are trying to get students to become more politically active,” said Justin Hinh, president of Students for Liberty. “More importantly, we just want to educate students to have a philosophical background toward why liberty should be valued.”
The training session was joined by presentations from the super-PAC FreedomWorks For America and Jacqueline Smith, a Republican candidate running against U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop in Utah’s 1st congressional district.
“What we’re doing is we’re providing information to people on Sen. Orrin Hatch’s record,” said Scott Peterson, state grassroots director of FreedomWorks who presented information needed to become a delegate in Utah during the session.
FreedomWorks was invited to Utah by grassroots organizations, Peterson said, and one of its current goals as an organization is to oust Hatch this November from the U.S. Senate before he can serve a seventh term.
Hinh said the presentations by FreedomWorks and Smith were not sponsored by Students for Liberty or the College Republicans; rather, both student organizations only sponsored the information session led by Peterson about caucus participation.
“We mostly just want students involved, and we’re trying to push students to vote for pro-liberty candidates,” Hinh said. “Our logic is that students lean Libertarian already, so just getting them out there in the first place is going to help our cause out.”
The event attracted students from Students for Liberty, College Republicans and Young Adults for Ron Paul, as well as students who looking to become more informed voters.
“I’m just looking for a way to be more educated in my vote,” said Rebecca Kelly, USU student and Huntsman Scholar. “I want to know more about the process and more about how it all comes to be.”
Smith said she believes the youth are the future and that the more college students who are educated to get involved, the better chance the nation has to turn around and become a free and prosperous society.
“I wish that I would’ve gotten involved at your age rather than my age,” she said. “I feel like I wasted a lot of years not paying attention to what our politicians were doing to us and to our country.”
Also in attendance was Marley Lunt, a USU graduate volunteering for U.S. senatorial candidate Dan Liljenquist, a Republican running against Hatch in November.
A registered Republican who works for USU Housing and Residence Life, Lunt said it is important for students to understand the political process and how they can get involved in Utah’s political system.
“Most students think that they only vote at the general election, but in fact the decision is made through the caucus process,” he said. “One thing that I think is shameful is that students leave over spring break and don’t stick around to vote when they can actually have influence.”
Smith said she also believes young voters are the only chance to take the country back.
“This isn’t about my race for office,” she said. “This is about me loving my country enough to do whatever I have to do to make this work and to fix it. But I can’t fix it without you guys.”
– ej.jungblut@gmail.com