After praying and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the Republican caucus for Utah precinct 2394 began in the apartment of a U student.
Fourth-year medical student Jeff Anderson posted flyers days ago notifying residents of the East Village, a married student housing complex, he would host a caucus meeting Monday. Yesterday afternoon, he gathered chairs from neighboring apartments and placed a small white board on a low easel in the front of the room.
At 7 p.m., when more than 30 adults carrying five babies in arms and dragging more than half a dozen toddlers came to his small apartment, he couldn’t have been happier.
“I thought it was amazing. I had no idea that many people would be here,” Anderson said.
Two years ago, Anderson attended a nearby caucus. As the only East Village resident attending the meeting, he became the chair of precinct 2394, which consists strictly of the U East Village.
He dedicated the time to the position and organized the meeting because he sees the under-utilized political power students have.
“Students should have a voice,” Anderson said. They have different needs than other voters in the 2nd Congressional District. The candidates should take the students more seriously, but before they will, the students need to be more involved, he added.
At the caucus meeting, delegates are elected to represent the precinct in county conventions where they choose candidates.
“Most people don’t realize how critical their involvement is in the election process right now. Most people think that by voting in the election they can make a difference, but caucus meetings are even more important in some ways than the elections because they narrow the field on candidates,” said Nancy Lyon, U associate vice president for government affairs.
By the end of the meeting, they appointed Wesley Adams, a second-year medical student, next year’s precinct chair.
The 2394 Democratic precinct was scheduled to meet at Bonneville Elementary, but no one from the U precinct attended the meeting.
“It is unfortunate,” said Christian Anderson, Democratic legislative district chair and assistant dean of the College of Humanities. In this case, students registered as Democrats who live in that area will be contacted and asked to fill the precinct chair positions, he said.