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Howard Dean Reaches Out to Young Voters

Photo credit: Ron Rogers Howard Dean became the third Democratic presidential candidate to visit Howard University in the last month. With Dean is Jennifer Walker, a second-year Howard law student.

By Kerry-Ann Hamilton
Black College Wire

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean kicked off a campaign to reach out to young voters by appearing at Howard University on the first stop of his seven-city �Raise the Roots� tour.

�People say young people do not vote and they are right; young people do not vote,� Dean told an overflow crowd Oct. 3 at an auditorium on campus. �That is because people do not give them a reason to vote. I want to provide that reason.�

The former Vermont governor, whose innovative use of the Internet and technology have helped him move to the front of a crowded Democratic field, has attracted a large base of young people.

One of them is Jamal Anderson, a junior political science major at Howard until he took a leave of absence to work as a part of Dean�s core campaign team. Anderson began working with the Dean team part-time a year ago and was offered a full-time position this summer.

�People take time off from school for various reasons. I think I am called to serve,� the California native said. �He moves and inspires me to take action in this country.As young Democrats, we are in need of a clear and consistent vision -- Dean.�

Dean said that if he is elected, he will balance the budget, address issues in higher education and work to repeal the Bush-sponsored tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.

Dean, a medical doctor by training, said he also wants to make health care available to all Americans. Without universal health care, Americans are �second-class citizens of the industrial world.�

Dean, an unabashed liberal, said he prides himself on not being �Bush-like.� Dean said his message is consistent for black and white audiences; and he accused some of his rivals of tiptoeing around the issues when they address less-than-friendly audiences, especially in the South.

Dean said he supports affirmative action and lauded Howard students who led an all-night vigil in April outside the Supreme Court in the University of Michigan cases.

�Affirmative action is necessary to overcome institutional racism,� Dean said. �People hire people who look like them. By preserving affirmative action, everyone who is talented enters the pool.�

One student asked Dean about naming an African American as his running mate. Dean said he had a few individuals in mind, but it was premature to name them.

The Dean tour also plans to travel to Charleston, S.C.; Seattle; Norman, Okla.; Iowa City, Iowa; Madison, Wis.; and Keene and Durham, N.H. The Dean campaign says his youthful supporters encompass more than 650 independent local groups in high schools, colleges, and communities across the country.

Dean is the third Democratic presidential candidate to visit Howard University in the last month. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., visited to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington. Former Illinois senator Carol Moseley Braun announced her bid for White House at Howard.

More information on the Dean campaign at www.deanforpresident.com.

Kerry-Ann Hamilton, a 2003 graduate of Howard University, is pursuing a master�s degree in international affairs at American University in Washington, D.C.

Posted Oct. 6, 2003