UT Dems President, Jessica McCarron hoped that event would counteract the RNC and open students up to the deomcratic part if they hadn't yet registered. | Photo by Jennifer Bedell
In the moments before the University of Tampa Democrats tabling event officially began at 11 a.m. in Vaughn Courtyard, the girls in blue quietly set up signs, posters, fliers, etc. Almost in sync, hula hoopers swirled through the grass as helicopters for the Republican National Convention slowly gravitated through Tampa’s blue sky.
UT’s own, “College Democrats” or “Spartans for Obama” gathered for a quick meeting before they queued up their mood-suiting playlist of M83, MGMT and Empire Of The Sun. For only about five minutes, passersby seemed to glance at the tent and then straight through it. But the first student approached soon after and President of UT Democrats, senior Jessica Mccarron, let out a sincere and welcoming, “Yay!” Most, if not all tent visitors expressed interest in registering to vote in Florida, regardless of the political party they were a part of.
Mccarron, the government and world affairs major, joined UT Democrats as a freshman and became the president her sophomore year. She said, “We’re here counteracting the RNC. We want students to register regardless of who they vote for and we want this campus’ voice to be heard.” Mccarron admitted that, from her knowledge, the UT Democrats became truly prominent in 2008, a clear connection with President Obama’s election.
So was this conveniently organized Democrat tabling event a form of rebellion against the RNC? Not from the eye, there was no form of hatred being expressed. This event was simply a group who involve themselves with Democratic community service working towards educating the students at UT. Anna Haragan, junior, focusing on sociology and Spanish, expressed that their main goal was “to get people aware of our club.” The UT Democrats are looking to add more diversity and participate year round in working for left wing interests, including Planned Parenthood.
Mccarron spoke briefly about what their meeting entailed, “We do good hard work for campaigns and we really educate each other.” All of the members bring something to the table during meetings and express interests on a variety of topics that all relate back to a more Liberal sense.
And in case you needed more proof that this wasn’t a full-on Democrat “Protest Fest”, senior criminology major, Kyle Beausoleil stopped by, who admitted he was not a democrat, but simply came by to register to vote. And of course he was “trying to promote his fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha.”
Jennifer Bedell can be reached at jennifer.bedell@theminaretonline.com
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