Jen Clay
Staff Writer
Chris Wolff / Photo Assistant
A collection of students watch in the
Sandbar television area
Sen. John Edwards facing off against
Dick Cheney in the vice-presidential
debate Oct. 5.
Pepperdine students in Dr. Stanley Moore’s elections and campaigns political science class will make their own impression on the political landscape this year, and not just by voting. Co-taught by Moore and political consultant Joe Sorrell, the course requires students to intern for the local or national campaign of their choice. According to Moore, not all of the enrolled students hail from a political science background.
For her requirement, Carrie Miller, a junior liberal arts major with an emphasis in political science, is working on Heather Peters’ campaign in Santa Monica. Peters, a Republican, is running for state assembly in District 41, which includes Malibu, Calabasas and Santa Monica.
“[Peters] is local, and she has a lot of the same views as I do, so I just decided she would be a good person to work for,” Miller said.
As an intern for Peters’ campaign, Miller said she has performed a variety of tasks. Between working with databases and calling potential campaign donors and volunteers, Miller also assisted with a fundraiser held at the home of California politician Republican Bill Simon. Miller said the experience so far has been fun as well as absorbing.
“Peters is running against an incumbent, and she’s a Republican in the Santa Monica area, so it’s going to be interesting to see how far she can get,” Miller said.
Senior Paris Dennard is also enrolled in the class. A public relations and political science double major, Dennard has chosen to work for President Bush’s re-election campaign and acts as the student director of Pepperdine’s Students for Bush, the collegiate extension of Bush’s campaign. Dennard said the group acts as a kind of subsidiary to Pepperdine’s College Republicans, and as the group’s director, Dennard works on a variety of tasks that include making the campus aware of opportunities within the campaign.
“Our specific goal is to make sure that there is a Bush presence on campus,” Dennard said.
Dennard, who has been politically involved on campus since his freshman year, said Moore left the options open in terms of political internship opportunities.
“He just wanted to be sure we have completed 50 hours of interning by the end of the semester and do more than just stuff envelopes,” Dennard said.
While many student experiences in the political realm yield positive results, students are also forced to look at the defeating aspects of the field. Moore said some of his students have recently found themselves out of an internship as candidates re-think their campaigns.
“(One mayoral candidate) decided that one of my students didn’t have enough work for her to do, which to me probably means that they’re folding,” Moore said.
Students interested in working on behalf of Senate hopeful Bill Jones may also find themselves out of luck, according to Moore.
“This week in the newspaper it said Bill Jones has decided, instead of putting money in his campaign, to take money out of his campaign and pay back some of his loans, meaning he’s basically conceding that Barbara Boxer is going to win,” Moore said. “And if that happens, your candidate is gone, so some of these students are having that situation.”
Moore said students who find themselves without a position must still complete the 50 hours of campaign work required for the class, but students may also acquire extra credit by attending political events on campus and evaluating the presidential debates.
As the class is making its sixth appearance in the past 12 years, Moore said he started the class after Sorrelll, then on the board of directors at the University of Southern California, grew dissatisfied with that university and agreed to join Moore at Pepperdine to teach the course.
In fact, Sorrelll is a leader in his field, having worked on John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in the 1960s. He has also served as president of both the American and international associations of political consultants, and now heads up a successful campaign public relations firm.
Dennard said Sorrell’s involvement played a part in his decision to enroll in the class.
“Joe Sorrell is a powerhouse in the political community for being, probably, the foremost political consultant in the state of California,” Dennard said. “He’s a very well-known person, and he has a wealth of expertise and knowledge to share with us, and so to be in his presence and to be taught by him is a great honor in and of itself.”
Dennard said Sorrell’s political connections mean the class has hosted several prominent guest speakers, including a handful of candidates running for mayor in Los Angeles. In addition, assembly hopefuls including Miller’s candidate Heather Peters and Peters’ incumbent Fran Pavley have also made appearances.
Miller, who eventually wants to teach government, said she will be logging internship hours on Election Day, whether or not Peters wins. Surveying the class so far, she said the course has opened her eyes to political strategy and even the placement of political visuals.
“It’s interesting to see how everything works and how everything’s very strategic when it comes to where everything is placed,” Miller said.
For his part, Dennard said he is interested in eventually running for office himself and believes his internship experience is showing him what it takes to stage a successful campaign.
“This class is just adding to my knowledge base on what it takes to be an effective candidate and what it takes to have a successful election,” Dennard said. “So we’re having a great time hearing from these speakers from both sides of the political spectrum.”
10-28-2004