| Both the Politico and the Chicago Sun-Times are highlighting an older report about the Clinton campaign's efforts to bring out-of-state students back to Iowa to caucus. The co-president of Students for Hillary at the University of Iowa is an Illinois native: And as reported earlier this year, the Clinton campaign was trying to organize students in a way we think is perfectly acceptable but obviously hypocritical considering her attack today. But her student volunteers are working on contingency plans. Nikki Dziuban, a 19-year-old sophomore from the Chicago suburbs, is co-president of Students for Hillary at the University of Iowa. She says the original caucus date of Jan. 14 would boost student turnout because out-of-state students like her would be “more inclined to come back if it’s just a couple days earlier than if it’s right in the middle of break.” (Spring semester there begins Jan. 22.)
A co-chair of Students for Hillary, Sarah Sunderman will be home in Minnesota for the holidays, and will drive back to attend the caucus: Sarah Sunderman, a senior at Iowa State University, said she will drive back early from her home in Minnesota to take part in the Jan. 3 caucuses. She is one of about 21,000 out-of-state students who attend Iowa's public universities. As a member of her school's Democratic student group, she sees the date as a challenge.
"It's a complex issue, but clearly it's harder when students are dispersed across the state to make sure they participate," Sunderman said.
Clinton supporters have challenged Sunderman's example, saying that she is actually originally born in Iowa and that she plans to remain in Iowa after graduating. I'm glad to see that they're inventing new criteria as they go along for who should or should not be allowed to caucus. It is patently absurd, not to mention unconsitutional, to argue that Iowa voters should have been born in the state or that they should sign a pledge to remain there indefinitely. None of these students are doing anything wrong, and they have every right to participate. In fact, as these two examples show, out-of-state students can be heavily involved and deeply invested in Iowa politics, and the state should be happy to have them. The community will be better of because of them. |
