'Students for Howard Dean' finds niche at IU

Anticipation was in the air Wednesday night as more than 40 supporters of presidential candidate Howard Dean packed into the Indiana Memorial Union Frangipani Room.\nIU Students for Howard Dean President Marty Gold opened the night by stressing Dean's stance on the environment, foreign policy and plans of balancing the budget as the highlight of his campaign. Following Gold, students, Vietnam veterans and retired teachers voiced their support for Dean.\n"I support Dean because he is stepping up as a strong Democrat. In the current political climate, that is refreshing," junior Ashley Lautzenhiser said.\nIU Students for Howard Dean is part of a larger national group called Students for Howard Dean. \nDean supporters met at over 400 locations throughout the country Wednesday night, including another Bloomington location -- at Upland Brewery, 350 W. 11th St. Since last May, the attendance at these meetings has grown from as few as five to as many as 40 people at each location.\nAfter speeches were made at the IU Students for Howard Dean meeting, the group held elections for a new chapter president, whose term will begin in January. Once the votes were tallied, graduate student Joe Holtrop was declared the winner. Next, small groups discussed different campaign techniques and presidential politics. \n"We want people to feel comfortable talking about Howard Dean," Gold said. "Groups help make people feel comfortable talking about the issues." The theory is that the more comfortable people are discussing politics, the more likely they are to spread the word to friends and family.\n"Grassroots is what it's all about. The more people that hear Dean's message, the larger his base is going to grow," sophomore Andy Shapero said. \nOver the past months, Dean's support has grown largely due to the Internet. More than 347,000 people have registered on the Dean's Web site. Locally, anyone can connect to his campaign by going to www.deanforamerica.com or www.generationdean.com.\n"My friend, Cody, who works for my company, mentioned his work with Dean. The more he talked, the more reasonable Dean sounded. It was no hard sell, his ideas sounded right," said Vietnam veteran John Linnemeier. \nIU Students for Dean phoned residents of New Hampshire Saturday in an attempt to gain their votes in the upcoming primary election. They hope to build momentum for the campaign as primary season kicks off in February. Dean meet-ups are held nationwide on the first Wednesday of each month.\nWhile the IU College Republicans have no specific groups aimed toward a 2004 presidential candidate, president Angel Rivera said the CR's will be in charge of getting the Bush campaign moving at IU.\n"Howard Dean does not pose a threat to George W. Bush in Indiana," Rivera said. "Indiana has voted Republican in every election since 1968 and it's not going to change that stance to help a liberal like Dean."\nThe IU College Democrats were unable to be reached for comment for this story.\n-- Nation & World editor Christina Galoozis contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Max Fine at mmfine@indiana.edu.