On September 15th, 2016, Stockton’s Political Science Department hosted a question and answer panel featuring the nine Stockton students who had the opportunity to be interns at both the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The RNC took place between July 18th and July 21st, and featured two Stockton students interning. The DNC had a total of seven Stockton students in attendance, and took place between July 25th and July 28th. The panel opened with each student introducing themselves and listing what their responsibilities at their conventions were. Responsibilities ranged from arranging seats and interning at CNN during the DNC to running the shuttle services at the hotel for the RNC. One student was even able to attend the DNC’s caucasus, where important politicians such as Elizabeth Warren decide policy platforms with state delegations.

Once the students finished listing off their responsibilities, they were asked questions by the two panel moderators, Professor Michael Rodriguez and Professor Claire Abernathy. Participants were asked about what the point of a convention is, and the responses varied based on which convention was attended. The consensus from the DNC was that the convention is “essentially advertising” for the candidates, while the two RNC students believed that the convention served as a “unifying factor” for the party. The questions only got more difficult from there, however, many of the students were Political Science majors, making them amply ready to field anything thrown their way. When asked about “voting your conscience” versus “the lesser of two evils” approach to this election, the panel said that if you live in one of the “hardline” states that always vote one way or the other, then you “have every right” to vote your conscience. However, if you’re in a swing state, they said, then the “lesser of two evils” approach is how you should enter the voting booth. 110 electoral votes lie within  the eight swing states, meaning voters in these states hold the most power.

After the questions, panelists presented a slideshow of photos from both conventions, which featured pictures of the students at the conventions, including pictures of students on the convention floor with important figures of each political party. The panel was then open for questions from the audience to ask questions, Once the students answered all the questions, the panel concluded with the panelists and moderators urging everyone to go out and vote in November, because “once they see that young people are coming out to vote, they’ll start to cater to us”.

Overall, the panel was very enjoyable and offered valuable information to students at Stockton. Hopefully, Stockton will continue to offer events like these and students will continue to come out and become more politically active.

– Dan Tidcombe