Debbie Wasserman Schultz took one for the team.
“There was a student that was registered to vote in my district in South Florida, and we switched their registration up to Gainesville,” the congresswoman said. “But that’s OK, because then we don’t have to worry about an absentee ballot.”
Representative Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, made an appearance at UF on Tuesday to encourage students to register for the 2012 general election.
The congresswoman was welcomed by Gators for Obama members and volunteers at the Reitz Union Colonnade.
Christina Ford, co-chair for Gators for Obama, said since Wasserman Schultz is a UF political science alumna, students should be encouraged to get involved in the election.
“I think a lot of us wonder what can I do with my political science degree or how could my involvement transition into something,” the 20-year-old political science and economics sophomore said. “Debbie is the perfect example of what we can do.”
Wasserman Schultz looked ready for her alma mater with a 3-inch bedazzled Gator brooch pinned to her royal blue dress.
But politics run through her blood just as much as her school colors.
In the 1988 election against Ronald Reagan, she spearheaded voter-drives for a familiar name.
“I was involved with Students for Joe Biden,” the congresswoman said. “Then he didn’t win the primary, so I became head of Students for Dukakis.”
Though her efforts in that election went unrewarded, that didn’t dampen Wasserman Schultz’s enthusiasm for politics, which projects whenever she speaks about this year’s election.
“Students should vote as if their lives depend on it,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Because it does.”
The congresswoman said two main issues affecting students are the rising cost of higher education and job opportunities for recent graduates.
“The Republicans brought us to the brink of student loan interest rates doubling,” Wasserman Schultz said. “But Barack Obama hit the stump, went out across the country and helped make the Republicans in Congress do the right thing.”
Contact Shelby Webb at swebb@alligator.org.
