UW-Madison senior Cassandra Slaughter is the deputy communications director of Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk's gubernatorial campaign. She deals with reporters from around the state, and helps to maintain Falk's Web site.
\When Erik [Falk] is out campaigning in the mobile office, going to Wausau, Superior or wherever, I call up the local media to get them out to meet up with him,"" she said referring to Falk's son, a UW-Madison senior. ""I also do research on relevant issues that are coming up so that Kathleen is prepared for forums and debates.""
Slaughter is not alone in her involvement in what has been called the most intriguing Wisconsin gubernatorial race in more than a decade. With more than a hundred thousand college students in the state, many work for, intern with or volunteer their time with gubernatorial campaigns, filling diverse roles. Some interns also receive credit for their work in the campaigns through their respective universities.
""This campaign could not operate without the strong support of college students,"" said Sachin Chheda, field director of state Attorney General Jim Doyle's campaign, adding that nearly 50 percent of the volunteer staff was made up of high school and college students.
""They are doing things at every level of the campaign. We have people helping in fundraising, ... field operations ... and planning how we're going to reach voters through an absentee ballot program."" Chheda said.
According to David Vasquez, a UW-Madison senior interning for credit with the Doyle campaign, not all of the work is fun and exciting. Vasquez said the most mind- numbing job was ""stuffing envelopes""'the process of sending out literature about the candidate to prospective voters'but added that working on a high-profile campaign was definitely something he enjoyed and would continue throughout the fall if Doyle wins the Democratic primary Sept. 10.
""It's been a really interesting experience, seeing how candidates and campaigns try to get their image out to the public and especially the students,"" he said. ""It's just been a real eye-opening experience for me.""
Some students have been put into upper management positions of campaigns, receiving experience and financial compensation.
UW-Madison junior Mike Tate is the state field director for Falk's campaign. According to Tate its a position usually reserved for a person half again his age.
""When you look at the importance of students to the Falk campaign the thing that stands out ... is the number of students in senior staff positions,"" he said. ""I think Kathleen, at the time she started running simply said, 'Let's try something new.'""
Though staffers on Republican Gov. Scott McCallum's gubernatorial campaign are less concerned than their Democratic counterparts over the primary, they still have found themselves busy through out the summer, according to recent UW-Madison graduate Tim Rash, chairman of the College Republicans.
""We are still trying to get students out and vote Republican in the upcoming primary,"" he said
No matter the outcome of the election, the students will be gaining valuable experience for future endeavors in the political arena according to Chheda.
""Many, if not most, of our staff got their initial training while in college,"" he said.
