The start of every new semester is a hectic one, but with what some are calling the most important presidential election of our lifetime fast approaching, the Oberlin College Democrats know that they have little time to lose. The organization, co-chaired by senior Renata Strause and sophomore Charlie Sohne, primarily serves to promote the ideas and concerns of Oberlin’s “progressive-thinking democrats.”

However, in this tumultuous political season, its members are rapidly putting into action their plan to send record numbers of students to the voting booths this November and help put John Kerry in the White House. They have helped make voter registration forms available across the campus and are encouraging other student-run organizations to do the same.

They are giving students abundant opportunities to become directly involved in electoral politics. Over the next several weeks, they will be volunteering to register new voters and campaigning door-to-door in Cleveland and in local areas. They will also serve as facilitators on Election Day, which involves getting voters to the booths, answering questions that arise and assisting those experiencing problems with the voting process.

However, the key component to the OC Democrats’ plan for the upcoming weeks is voter education, which includes bringing prominent Democrats to give lectures to the campus, staging mock-debates between “Democrat” and “Republican” candidates, and emphasizing Ohio’s enormous significance as a swing state that could perhaps determine the ultimate outcome of the election.

Voter education also plays a role in empowering the individual college voter, especially given the fact that 18-24 year-olds constitutes the smallest number of voters in the country.

“Current polls don’t take into account how there will be a large number of new voters, so most college students who are voting for the first time are not being paid attention to,” Strause said. “We have the power to push the election in an entirely different direction.”

Another major component of the OC Democrats’ plans for this semester is campaigning against Ralph Nader, whose anti-corporate rhetoric and stances against the war and favoritism of legalizing same-sex marriage appeal to many Oberlin students.

“There are very few people who are so in favor of Nader that they’re not open to learning more about John Kerry,” said Sohne.

Sohne feels that Kerry really is a progressive Democrat who has had, over the years, the courage to fight for what he believes in. He was one of 14 Senators in 1996 to strongly oppose the Defense of Marriage Act that would prohibit gay marriages in the Constitution, has a strong interest in protecting the environment and supports a healthcare plan that would cover 95 percent of Americans’ medical needs.

Both Strause and Sohne agree that many of Kerry’s stances are consistent with Nader’s, and that with Kerry in office, what matters most to Oberlin students will be addressed.

“If we have Bush for another four years, the more progressive values that Nader supposedly stands for will be nonexistent,” said Sohne. “No one’s going to be talking about them.”