Emma Cohen gets inside look at presidential politics

2016 Feb 15

Emma Cohen of Stillwater, NY, got an inside look at the presidential election process during a five-day trip to New Hampshire that culminated Feb. 9 with the first-in-the-nation primary.

Cohen is majoring in Political Science at SUNY Oneonta. The trip is part of a semester-long course, POLS 216: Presidential Election Campaigns, taught by Associate Professor of Political Science Gina Keel. While in New Hampshire, Cohen attended candidate rallies, town hall meetings and other events, witnessing firsthand the campaigning and media frenzy in the last days before the primary.

To prepare for the trip, the class discussed news stories on the campaigns and the candidates' strategies. Upon their arrival in New Hampshire, the students broke into groups based on different candidates and parties. One group canvassed for Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton; others volunteered for the Donald Trump and Martin O’Malley campaigns.

Highlights of the trip included visits to the Sanders and Clinton campaign headquarters; a Marco Rubio town hall meeting; meeting Carly Fiorina at her pre-game Super Bowl party; a Hillary Clinton rally, where at least one student got to shake hands with Bill Clinton; a Chris Christie town hall event; and a Trump rally, where several students were able to get on the list for VIP seating.

The students will continue to follow and analyze each campaign throughout the semester, with new insights from their experiences in New Hampshire. Cohen documented the experience in a blog: http://thecohencampaign2016.blogspot.com