Being a Grinnell Student During the Iowa Caucuses

As a native Iowan, I will proudly tell you that caucusing is an energizing, authentic exercise of democracy. I was in eighth grade when I observed my first caucus, and this caucus will be the first I attend as an eligible voter. Most Grinnell students are temporary Iowans, so participating in the 2016 caucus is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Caucus season or not, discussing politics and policy issues of importance is a key part of the Grinnell experience. Grinnellians are always thinking critically about the happenings in communities both local and global. From chatting in the dining hall with my friend Malachi Wickman ’16 about her MAP research investigating novel anti-malarial pharmaceuticals to talking with Professor David Cook-Martin about his findings that more people are leaving the United States for Mexico, Grinnellians are constantly evaluating the world around them and working towards making their own socially-just impact.

So when Grinnellians have the opportunity to frame the national political landscape, we eagerly accept the challenge and make our voices heard.

On caucus night, Feb. 1, I will gather with my Grinnell peers and neighbors to declare my support for my preferred presidential candidate. But how do I decide which candidate that is? By seeing, listening, and speaking with activists, politicos, and the presidential candidates themselves.

I will see Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, and Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood and a Hillary Clinton surrogate, on campus in the span of one week prior to the caucus. Not to mention, all three candidates and a few of their high-profile surrogates had already visited campus in the fall of 2015. Republican candidates Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum also visited the town of Grinnell in 2015­–16.

These events are pivotal in students forming understandings of the candidates. Not only do we students get to hear the candidates themselves, we set the tone of the discussion when we ask these candidates for the highest office about the issues that matter most to us.

In addition to elected officials, we engage with key journalists and political scholars. On Jan. 28, E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post columnist and Brookings Institute senior fellow, and David Shribman, Pittsburgh-Post Gazette executive editor, will hold “A Conversation about the Iowa Caucuses.”

We Grinnellians do not only attend events and ask hard questions, though. Students — even those who are not majoring in political science — are involved in grassroots political organizing. Students dedicate hours each week to volunteer for their candidate, making thousands of phone calls and walking door to door to convince Iowans to caucus for their candidate. Others work the spin room of a nationally televised debate or dedicate an entire summer working for their state party.

On Feb. 1, 2016, Grinnellians will not be caucusing based on sound bites, super PAC ads, or secondhand news. Grinnellians will be voting based on their personal interactions with the presidential candidates.

Emma Lange ’16 is a political science major, with a concentration in technology studies, from Carroll, Iowa.