UA Students Going The Distance To Los Angeles For DNC 2000

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - When the balloons drop and history is made at the Democratic National Convention August 14-17, three University of Arkansas students will be front and center.

"The University of Arkansas is an environment that creates endless possibilities for its students. Being involved in the Gore/Lieberman campaign and the Democratic National Convention is a once in a lifetime experience. We will live history in the making," John Forrest Ales, founder of Students for Gore efforts at the University of Arkansas, said.

Students John Forrest Ales, Emily Hilderbrand and Susana O'Daniel organized a "Students for Gore" chapter in the winter of 2000 to begin a push for Gore's candidacy on the Fayetteville campus. Students for Gore worked with the UA's Young Democrats in presenting Gore's vision of affordable and improved higher educational opportunities to students.

Recently, the Fayetteville organization was named one of the ten most successful campus organizations for Gore in the United States.

In 1999, Gore's campaign became the first national presidential campaign to create and maintain a student outreach office. The campaign maintains a web page specifically designed for students and Alison Friedman, a Stanford University student, oversees an operation that reaches out to students and serves as a resource for groups similar to the one in Fayetteville.

"The students at the University of Arkansas have proven themselves time and again that while they may be 'hog wild,' they have a social conscience and care that this next president represents all the people - not just the powerful. I am proud of both their organizing skills and their commitment to electing Al Gore the next President of the United States of America," Alison Friedman, Students for Gore National Coordinator, said.

Ales, Hilderbrand and O'Daniel were rewarded with an opportunity to travel to Los Angeles to work with the Democratic Party's National Convention next week. They will work with students from across the country during this historic event. They will join other young voters from the state of Arkansas for a salute to Arkansas' leadership hosted by United States Senator Blanche Lincoln (D, Ark.) while in Los Angeles.

Ales was one of fifty students from across the nation selected to intern with Gore's National Headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., this summer. He worked with Gore's scheduling and advance operation and created the "Going the Distance" concept that Gore and Lieberman are using for their national tour leading up to the convention. This fall, Ales, Hilderbrand and O'Daniel will work to register voters, identify supporters, improve voter turnout among UA students and share Gore's plans for continued prosperity.

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