UW-Madison College Democrats encouraged political participation from students, in light of the upcoming November election, during their kickoff meeting Sunday.
The meeting featured speeches from Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Milwaukee mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett and a video message from U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
Evan Giesemann, chair of UW-Madison College Democrats, said the organization plans to draw attention to the election and promote overall political involvement from the student electorate.
Giesemann said College Democrats will be showing debates and sending out pledge cards to students to get them excited about the election.
""We're going to be doing a lot on campus talking to students directly,"" he said.
Each of the candidates said students are valuable in the approaching election and that College Democrats could help encourage their peers to vote in November.
Senator Feingold recognized the students of Madison as his ""backbone"" in previous elections, and said he hopes they will play a key role in his re-election.
Baldwin said student political involvement is important to her because, when she was first elected congresswoman in 1998, students were active in getting her into office.
""You need to know your own power to influence change,"" she said.
Barrett touched on the economy in his speech, saying he has been productive as mayor of Milwaukee by creating employment opportunities. He said he understands student apprehension about their ability to obtain jobs after graduating.
""I am concerned, just as many of you are, about our economy and jobs and what's going to happen when you finish school—what jobs are going to be there for you,"" he said.
Both the speeches delivered by Baldwin and Barrett as well as the video submitted by Feingold maintained a positive outlook on the results of November's midterm election for Democrats.
