New Hampshire, home to the nation’s first presidential primary, will soon experience a flurry of political activity – and two Student Government members are there to experience it. SG President Cassie Alsfeld and Assistant Director of Programming Madeline Peters traveled Tuesday to the NEC College Convention 2008. Hosted in Manchester by the New England College, the convention begins today and continues through Saturday. Wayne Lesperance, convention director, said the convention has two purposes. The first is to offer students a “first in the nation” experience, referring to the state’s uniquely positioned primary. Lesperance said the second, more important goal is to “promote civic education and civic engagement.” Alsfeld said the convention is a terrific opportunity to represent the interests of the students and the University. “Between [Hurricane] Katrina and football and our Flagship Agenda, people are watching LSU,” she said. “Here we are; we have a door opened for us. We’ve got to seize that opportunity, because it’s about time LSU registered on the national scale.” Lesperance said many students in the Northeast and New England are particularly interested in Louisiana following the 2005 hurricanes. “One of the themes that’s of real interest to students up here is Katrina and New Orleans,” he said. Lesperance said the Louisiana delegations have been present at both of the previous conventions, held before the 2000 and 2004 primaries. Lesperance said although 26 states sent students, the Louisiana delegation is this year’s largest. Speakers from Louisiana include Commissioner of Education E. Joseph Savoie and New Orleans TV reporter Bill Capo. “College Convention 2008 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these Louisiana student leaders, as a group, to be directly involved in the national political process,” Savoie said in a news release. Many presidential candidates were invited to the convention. Confirmed speakers include Sen. Joseph Biden, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Rep. Ron Paul and Rep. Tom Tancredo. Unconfirmed speakers include Sen. Hilary Clinton, Rudolph Giuliani, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Sen. Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. “The presidential candidates are speaking to us, which is a great chance for us to give student input,” Alsfeld said. “There’s not many opportunities students have to directly participate in the democratic process.” Alsfeld said the meeting also serves as an opportunity for members of the Louisiana Council of Student Body Presidents to interact. The funding for the trip was provided through Alsfeld’s contingency fund and also by the LSU Board of Supervisors. Alsfeld sits on the Board of Supervisors and is their delegate to the COSBP. Robert Rasmussen, assistant vice president of the LSU System, said the system agreed to pay the cost of Alsfeld’s airfare and the hotel room. He said they won’t know the exact expenditure amount “until she submits for reimbursement.” SG Executive Advisor Micah Davies said about $400 was withdrawn from Alsfeld’s executive contingency fund to pay for Peters’ plane ticket.
—-Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]