While most Brown students were dozing, shielded from the heavy rain, 60 Brown Students for Obama gathered at Hope High School early Saturday morning for a canvassing trip to Nashua, N.H.
Seventy-two volunteers from Brown, Providence College and Roger Williams University headed up the interstate for one of several national Students for Obama weekends, according to Brown Democrats President Harrison Kreisberg '10.
The goal during such weekends is to canvass door-to-door in highly contested "battleground states" such as Ohio, Florida and what the Obama campaign has labeled Rhode Island's sister-state, New Hampshire, according to Max Chaiken '09, deputy field officer for the Rhode Island for Obama campaign, president of Brown Students for Barack Obama and a Herald opinions columnist.
Students were given a brief canvassing training before they started knocking on doors. Each student was given a "walk list" of 75 to 100 doors, Chaiken told The Herald, adding that the students got information about the voters they were going to contact.
"They are either Democrats who have yet to say who they're going to vote for (or) independents or moderate Republicans who might have an inclination to be more moderate or not vote for (Republican Presidential Nominee John) McCain."
Chaiken said canvassing was by far the most effective way of reaching voters.
"There is a study out that said for every 12 contacts made door-to-door, one (prospective voter) who would not have voted for (a given candidate) is swayed," Chaiken said.
Canvassers who try to start conversations with the voters generally experience more positive responses than negative ones.
"There are always people who say 'Thanks, but no thanks,'" Chaiken said.
