Does the Student Vote Matter in Cambridge?

When Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 visited Winthrop House last week as part of the final stretch of his campaign for reelection to the Cambridge City Council, you might have expected a standing room only crowd.

The mayor is a well-known figure and the election is one of the most wide-open in recent years. More than 1,000 Harvard students are registered to vote in Cambridge, indicating what might appear to be a strong interest in local affairs.

But only 10 people turned out last week to hear Reeves urge Harvard students to play a larger role in Cambridge political activities.

The Reeves appearance is typical of student involvement in Cambridge politics. While a few students find the experience rewarding and a few candidates try to encourage participation, students stay home in droves.

Low rates of voter turnout and campaign participation among students may have led to a diminished student voice, say candidates for Cambridge city council and several Harvard students involved in local politics.

Candidates may not take the time to court the student vote because they think the students simply won't vote.

"Students do not vote. Their record is that they don't vote in local elections, despite being registered," says former Cambridge Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci.

Vellucci suggests several possible reasons for low political activity among college students. Financial considerations may play a role, he says. Certain assets of college students, such as stocks and bonds, may be taxed by Massachusetts if students declare themselves permanent residents, Vellucci explains.

And another possible reason is apathy.

"They [college students] don't care," Vellucci says. "They're not interested. Their voting record is low. It gets high in presidential elections, but not in local elections."

Several students who are active inlocal politics agree with Vellucci's analysis.

"There is lower voter turnout among students for municipal elections," says Joseph B. Nadol '95, student campaign coordinator for James McSweeney. "Unfortunately, students are apathetic about municipal affairs. They wrap themselves up in world and national affairs."

In preparation for a voter registration drive last month in Quincy House, 400 phone calls were made to Harvard undergraduates, says McSweeney campaign worker Jonathan B. Brooks '95. The 400 phone calls resulted in only five students registering, Brooks says.

"It's very difficult for Harvard students to understand the City Council's influence," Brooks says. "There's a real lack of information. Part of our job is to try to get people to understand the situation."

"As temporary residents of Cambridge, many students just don't care," says Timothy E. Codrington '95, a Reeves campaign worker.

But Harvard students are not alone in their low rate of participation in local politics. City Councillor Timothy J. Toomey points out that Harvard students have a better voter turnout than their contemporaries down the river at MIT.

The participation level of students in politics depends in part on how much candidates reach out--or don't reach out--to the student community. Efforts to bring in the student vote vary greatly among campaigns.

For a few city council candidates, the student vote is a vital campaign concern and a focal point of election strategy.

"Students are an important factor in the Cambridge community, and Mayor Reeves encourages their political involvement," says Richard R. Buery '92, Reeves' campaign manager.

To bring students into politics and woo student voters, Reeves has made several appearances at Harvard before various student groups, Buery says.

Reeves spoke to the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Students Association (BGLSA) during upperclass registration, according to BGLSA co-chair Dennis K. Lin '93-'94.

Reeves addressed members of the Caribbean Club, Black Students' Association and Association of Black Radcliffe Women at his Winthrop House appearance, Codrington says.

"Mayor Reeves really tries to encourage students to get involved with politics," Codrington says.

Reeves is also a member of the Phillips Brooks House (PBH) advisory committee, and this reflects his strong belief in the value of community service, Buery says.

In addition to scheduling meetings with student groups, the Reeves campaign hopes to reach students through advertisements in Perspective, Buery says.

"Students are a strong base of support, a group where we think we'll do very well," Buery says. "As a former Harvard student, Mayor Reeves feels a special affinity to the student body."

The student community is important to Reeves as a source of campaign volunteers as well as votes, says Buery, who also worked in local politics as an undergraduate. About 20 Harvard students are involved "intensely" with the Reeves campaign, Buery says.

Reeves' campaign is not the only re-election effort that attempts to reach out to students.

"The student vote is always very important, and I depend on it," says Councillor Francis H. Duehay '55. "As a former Harvard student, faculty member and administrator, I represent both the University and the city."

Duehay says that his effort to procure the student vote includes personal campus appearances and special mailings to students, and recruitment of campaign volunteers through the Harvard-Radcliffe Democrats.

Duehay cites his platform's focus on issues such as public safety and the environment as elements that students might find particularly appealing.

Councillor Timothy J. Toomey says the student vote takes a "major role" in his campaign.

"I try to reach out to every voter," Toomey says.

Toomey cites his record of support for hiring more police officers and firefighters as a reason for students to support him in this year's elections.

On one issue, however, Harvard students may disagree with Toomey.

"I will state quite frankly what I believe. Long-term Cambridge residents should have priority for rent-controlled housing," Toomey says.

James McSweeney, a non-incumbent candidate for the council, also places high priority on the student vote, according to his campaign manager, David L. K. Trumbull.

"In our last campaign two years ago, we did very well. At that time no special effort was made to target the student vote," Trumbull says. "This year, the student effort is integral."

Trumbull cites McSweeney's appearances at a Quincy House voter registration drive and at a Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club meeting as examples of McSweeney's effort to reach student voters.

McSweeney's call for 24 hour public transportation, as well as his plans to make Cambridge more bicycle-friendly, are platform planks students should find appealing, Trumbull says.

Several city council candidates profess interest in the student vote but say they do not depend very heavily on it.

Kathy Born, a non-incumbent seeking election to the council, says she is alsomaking substantial effort to contact students,even though they lie outside her primaryconstituency.

"We're reaching out to students throughrepresentatives in almost every House," Born says."We're distributing leaflets and mailing to newlyregistered student voters. We're trying to targetcollege women who want progressive femalecandidates."

Born cites her campaign's theme of"inventiveness and wisdom" as an appealing featureto students, and says she looks forward tolearning more about student concerns.

"As a mother of three children in theirtwenties, I have a lot to learn from people ofthis age," Born says.

Non-incumbent John R. Pitkin sees his relationto the student vote as similar to Born's. "They'renot a core of my constituency, but I'm veryinterested in the student vote," Pitkin says.

Pitkin says he tries to reach the studentcommunity by providing student publications withcampaign press releases, and by placingadvertisements in the Crimson.

Pitkin cites his campaign's stress on improvedrelations between Cambridge and Harvard as amatter of interest for students.

For many other council candidates, the studentvote is not an important campaign consideration.

"I have no idea whether students vote for me,"says Councillor William H. Walsh. "I couldn'tidentify any specific students who vote for me."

Walsh says he focuses on long-term issues whichcollege students, as only temporary Cambridgeresidents, might not be as interested in.

"If you're only going to be here for a fewyears, perhaps someone else has the morepolitically correct, sexier issues of the day,"Walsh says.

Councillor Sheila T. Russell also says studentsare not her primary constituency.

"I don't depend very much on the student voteat all. Mine is an older constituency," Russellsays.

"But I welcome any vote," Russell adds.

Russell cites her work on public safety,including the formation of the North CambridgeCrime Task Force, as a reason for students tosupport her.

The tendency to view the student vote as atmost a supplement to a fundamental base of supportextends to non-incumbents as well.

Council hopeful George A. Spartichino says hiscampaign concentrates on families, and that he hasnot yet made inroads into the studentconstituency.

"I haven't had the time to penetrate thestudent community because of my commitment toneighborhood activities and sports activities,"Spartichino says.

Political apathy among students may befurthered by the tendency among campus politicalgroups to steer clear of local politics.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club is notendorsing any city council candidates this year,says Republican Club President Karen E. Boyle '94.

Boyle explains that "endorsement," a formaldeclaration of support, cannot be made innon-partisan city council elections. But the club"supports" James McSweeney, Boyle adds.

"He is the conservative candidate," Boyle says,"and he came to speak to us, as did his campaignmanager."

Boyle acknowledges, however, that while someclub members are working for McSweeney's campaign,the club as a whole is not as enthusiastic when itcomes to participating in local campaigns.

"At Harvard, it's difficult to get people fromall over the country to rally around a citycouncil election," Boyle says. "It just doesn'thit home."

Efforts to involve students in local politicshave been made, Boyle says. A registrar was at arecent Republican club meeting for any studentswho wished to switch their registration toCambridge, Boyle says.

Boyle, who is registered to vote in Cambridge,says she plans to vote for McSweeney in theupcoming elections.

The Harvard Republican Action Council also isnot endorsing any council candidates, says N. VanTaylor '96, president of the action council.

"We looked at the candidates and didn't thinkour membership would be attracted by any inparticular," Taylor says, noting that theelections are also non-partisan.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Democrats also will notendorse any council candidates.

"It's a matter of club policy," explains JohnB. King '95, vice-president of theHarvard-Radcliffe Democrats and a volunteer withthe Reeves campaign.

However, the club is making efforts to linkstudents eager to become involved with candidatesseeking such volunteers, King says. At least sixclub members are working with the Reeves campaign,says King, who serves as the club's liaison to theReeves campaign.

The exception to the rule of student groupsside-stepping local politics is the BGLSA, whichsupports Reeves.

"We definitely endorse Mayor Ken Reeves," saysLin. Several BGLSA members are working in theReeves campaign and Reeves campaign literature wasdistributed at a BGLSA meeting, Lin adds.

For those students interested in politicalcampaign work, involvement in a city councilcampaign can be very rewarding, student volunteerssay.

"Working in this campaign has enabled me to getmy feet wet. It's been great because I've beenable to sit down with Jim [McSweeney], who's agreat guy, and talk to him about strategy," saysBrooks.

While working in a local campaign may not yieldmuch in the way of "connections," it can be usefulfor moving into state and national politicsbecause of the political experience one gains,says Nadol, who worked last summer as an intern ina Congressional office.

"In a local campaign, you have a lot morecontrol over what happens," Nadol says. "It's afantastic experience.