Senate Race: A Younger Face

With only one week until election day and their fiery debates of last week fading to the back of voters' minds, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 and W. Mitt Romney began a final lap of the state yesterday in their battle for the U.S. Senate.

But the debating wasn't over, as two representatives--a Harvard senior and the Republican nominee's son--took to the podiums at Boston College.

The discussion between David P. Yarkin '95, who stood in for Kennedy, and Matthew S. Romney, who stood in for his father, was the second in a series of four such forums the two are putting on at colleges around the commonwealth.

No sparks flew as the surrogates mulled many of the same issues about which their candidates yelled at each other on statewide television last week.

Yarkin and Romney each gave speeches tailored to getting the college students' votes, and then opened the floor to questions ranging from welfare, health care and education reform to the economy and school choice.

Yarkin emphasized Kennedy's work on student loan reform and the National Service Act, saying those proposals reflect the incumbent's senator's commitment to college students.

"Every single person on student aid will benefit [from student loan reform,] and you have Senator Kennedy to thank for that," he said. "It's what clout lets him do."

Yarkin also said, "When you have a starting pitcher throwing a perfect game, you don't yank him in the ninth inning and put in a rookie."

Romney, too, emphasized the length of Kennedy's tenure, but by declaring "it's time for a change"--using those words four times in the first five minutes of his speech alone. He pointed out increases in crime and welfare problems, since Kennedy took office 32 years ago, and said, "It's time to replace the philosophy of the 1960s with the philosophy of the '90s."

About 35 to 40 students attended the debate. Most were not Massachusetts voters and attended because of a general interest in politics.

"I have a paper and need to find out about the issues. I don't know anything [about Massachusetts politics,] because I'm from Louisiana," said Beth M. Landis, a first-year at B.C.

Boston College junior Michelle C. Brennan came in the hope of seeing "a little less mud-slinging than on TV."

Romney, a 23-year-old junior at Brigham Young University, said he began working on his father's campaign in May and has made 15 to 20 appearances on his behalf. But he said he doesn't expect to follow in his father's footsteps.

"I don't want to go into politics in the future," the younger Romney said. "Politics is a dirty game."

Yarkin got involved with the Kennedy campaign after spending one summer working with an abortion rights group and another summer lobbying for the National Service Act.

"Those two experiences showed me how important the Senator is to people," he said. "I started to think of the Senate without Ted Kennedy and I shuddered.

Yarkin, an Eliot House resident, said that since taking the LSAT last month, he has been working eight to 10 hours daily on the campaign, mostly writing speeches for surrogate Kennedy campaigners.

After the forum, both participants emphasized the importance of winning college voters, and said they were pleased with the results of the discussion.

"I think it's fun meeting people," Romney said. "I've seen so much support for my dad, it's hard to believe the polls right now."

The debate was sponsored by the college's Political Science Organization. The group also tried to hold a gubernatorial forum, but only Democratic nominee Mark Roosevelt '78, and not Gov. William F. Weld '66, was represented.

"The Weld campaign kind of blew us off," said the organization's president Eamonn G. Gill

About 35 to 40 students attended the debate. Most were not Massachusetts voters and attended because of a general interest in politics.

"I have a paper and need to find out about the issues. I don't know anything [about Massachusetts politics,] because I'm from Louisiana," said Beth M. Landis, a first-year at B.C.

Boston College junior Michelle C. Brennan came in the hope of seeing "a little less mud-slinging than on TV."

Romney, a 23-year-old junior at Brigham Young University, said he began working on his father's campaign in May and has made 15 to 20 appearances on his behalf. But he said he doesn't expect to follow in his father's footsteps.

"I don't want to go into politics in the future," the younger Romney said. "Politics is a dirty game."

Yarkin got involved with the Kennedy campaign after spending one summer working with an abortion rights group and another summer lobbying for the National Service Act.

"Those two experiences showed me how important the Senator is to people," he said. "I started to think of the Senate without Ted Kennedy and I shuddered.

Yarkin, an Eliot House resident, said that since taking the LSAT last month, he has been working eight to 10 hours daily on the campaign, mostly writing speeches for surrogate Kennedy campaigners.

After the forum, both participants emphasized the importance of winning college voters, and said they were pleased with the results of the discussion.

"I think it's fun meeting people," Romney said. "I've seen so much support for my dad, it's hard to believe the polls right now."

The debate was sponsored by the college's Political Science Organization. The group also tried to hold a gubernatorial forum, but only Democratic nominee Mark Roosevelt '78, and not Gov. William F. Weld '66, was represented.

"The Weld campaign kind of blew us off," said the organization's president Eamonn G. Gill