Kerry seeks nomination lock

Alex Bracke endured insults and jeers this weekend. While campaigning for Sen. John Kerry in Cincinnati, Bracke said student hecklers outside the Xavier University basketball game shouted obscenities as he stood on the street corner waving a "Kerry for President" sign. \nBut the director of IU Students for John Kerry was unfazed. In fact, he said he was thrilled to encounter other college students who weren't apathetic about the election. \n"I was glad to hear them because it shows people are passionate about politics in a country where we're not known to be passionate about politics," Bracke said.\nDemocratic presidential candidates and their supporters have campaigned intensely in preparation for today's Super Tuesday primary elections, in which 10 states' voters will help choose which democratic candidate will represent the party in November's election.\nAmong the campaigners were five IU students from the newly formed organization, who traveled to Cincinnati in hopes of swaying Ohio voters toward Democratic front-runner John Kerry.\nDevin Nagy, also a director of IU Students for Kerry, said the group chose to go to Ohio to rally support in the traditionally Republican state.\n"Campaigning in Ohio is important for the national election because Bush won there with a very small margin last year," Nagy said. "We decided to lend our support to them." \nWhile in Cincinnati, the IU students participated in a variety of campaign activities. They called registered Democrats, campaigned tirelessly from door-to-door and held signs in crowded areas.\nNagy said he thought cold calling voters would be a negative experience, but it turned out to be better than he expected.\n"I thought it would be dehumanizing, but I came out with a good sense of the voters' feelings," Nagy said. "People are enthused. I didn't encounter people who were angry."\nWhile Bracke has always taken an interest in American politics, this past weekend was his first experience campaigning for a presidential candidate. He said the experience opened his eyes to the amount of campaign work required for a presidential race. \n"It gave me a better comprehension of the system," Bracke said. "There's so much that happens to get people out to the polling places. I didn't have any comprehension of how much work went into it."\nBracke said the experience of campaigning in Cincinnati also helped IU Students for Kerry gain new ideas for campaigning in Bloomington. \nThe Indiana primary is May 4.\nThe group became a formal organization about a month ago. Bracke said the organization currently has 65 members and is growing by about five students per week.\n"It gave us good ideas of how to get the word out and rally support," Bracke said. "Getting out on street corners with signs, as little of a task as that is, it raises awareness so much."\nFor more information on IU Students for Kerry, visit www.iustudents4kerry.com, or e-mail iustudents4kerry@yahoo.com.\n-- Contact senior writer Alli Stolper at astolper@indiana.edu.