Politically Savvy Students Sound Off
on NBC-TV's TODAY Show Monday, Feb. 4

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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – In a Today show segment set to air on Feb. 4, eight politically savvy Rutgers students sound off about the presidential campaign with co-anchor Natalie Morales, a Rutgers alumna who filmed the segment on the Cook Campus earlier this week. It is scheduled to air on NBC-TV (in the New York metropolitan area, Channel 4) on Monday, the day before voters in 24 states, including New Jersey, caucus or go to the primary polls on Super Tuesday. The Today show begins at 7 a.m. ET.

Morales returned to her alma mater to interview students for a story about the surge in political interest and activity among young and first-time voters that has occurred in this campaign. A diverse group from a wide range of political perspectives engaged in a lively discussion about their favorite candidates and the issues that will drive them to the polls. All of them are convinced that the “youth vote,” which has not received this much attention since the Vietnam war, will be pivotal in this election.

In the segment, the students also speak with authority and passion about the issues that are important to them, including the Iraq war, the economy, the environment, healthcare and abortion rights.

The participants were recommended by professors and staff at the Eagleton Institute of Politics. They are Nadia Brown, a graduate student in political science; Jennifer D'Autrechy, a senior majoring in political science and philosophy who is active on the John McCain campaign in New Jersey; Jill Gomez, a junior with New Jersey Public Interest Research Group’s “New Voters Project” and “What's Your Plan” campaigns to get out the youth vote and make sure presidential candidates are addressing students’ concerns.

Also in the discussion was Kathryn Lavelle, a first-year student and Republican from Maine who is considering majoring in political science or philosophy. Last Tuesday, Lavelle was deciding between Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Others included Malissa Pansa-ad, an intern and research assistant at Eagleton and Hillary Clinton supporter who is working with RU Voting, the student voter education and registration campaign; Joe Shure, a junior majoring in history and political science, who is supporting Barack Obama and heads Rutgers’ chapter of the Roosevelt Institution, a national student think tank; Yonaton Hillel Yares, a former co-state director of Students for Barack Obama New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic regional director of Unity 08, an independent, issue-based political movement; and Clinton supporter Pamela Yuen, a third-year student majoring in political science and minoring in women and gender studies and music, and president of the Rutgers Women’s Political Caucus