Date: Jan 12, 2012

Hofstra Students Experience Presidential Politics Firsthand at New Hampshire Primary

Students attended the events leading up to the New Hampshire Republican Primary

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY –  More than 50 Hofstra students experienced the excitement of the 2012 presidential race when they travelled to New Hampshire, January 7-9, to take part in various Republican primary events, including private sessions with the candidates, Town Hall style meetings, campaign headquarter tours, and Q&As.

"Hofstra students had the unique opportunity to observe first-hand the ‘retail politics’ of campaigning in New Hampshire high school gymnasiums, living rooms and small auditoriums" said Dr. David Green, professor of Political Science.  

Dr. Green has led Hofstra students to New Hampshire for previous primaries, and this time the students took great ownership of the trip and its agenda.  After a Town Hall meeting with Republican candidate Rick Santorum, the students invited him onto their bus for a private Q&A session. “The trip was the highlight of my undergraduate career,” said junior David Zuniga, president of Hofstra’s Student Government Association and former Chairman of  The College Republicans.  “It helped us to really understand how the game is played at this stage of the process.”

The group also held an exclusive meeting with Republican candidate Fred Karger at his campaign headquarters. The students took photos and asked him questions about the debate  and primary process, in order to better  “understand what fuels the political candidates,” as student Patrick Tierney put it. 

This trip to New Hampshire was sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean’s Office of Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Hofstra University Honors College, the First Year Connections program and the Center for Civic Engagement.

Hofstra will host the second presidential debate on October 16, 2012. President Stuart Rabinowitz will soon announce plans for a series of academic programs to be held in the months leading up to the debate that will provide students and the community with insights into the process and workings of the national election.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution of higher education where more than 12,000 full and part-time students choose from undergraduate and graduate offerings in liberal arts and sciences, business, engineering, communication, education, health and human services, honors studies, a School of Law and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.

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