The run up to the presidential debate left me wary of how volunteering for the actually event would turn out. I was right to be wary.
I arrived on campus at 2:00 p.m. to get my credentials. After walking to three different security checkpoints I was told to go back to the first one and they would let me in. I got my credentials and then was told to meet in the spin room in an hour. The spin room is basically a media room where candidates and their reps come after the debate to answer media’s questions. The room gets so crazy that our job is to literally hold signs over the reps heads so that the media can find them. I had the chance to hold a sign over Howard Dean. He was a pretty neat guy. Nice for the most part and his handlers are top notch. They even had him sign my sign as he was leaving.
He did an interview for CNN.com and if you watch it I am in the background.
http://www.cnn.com/video//video/politics/2007/11/15/long.howard.dean.interview.cnn?iref=videosearch
I also got to meet Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich and Joe Biden. All were very personable. It was an experience of a lifetime!
However CNN were complete jerks. I was stuck in that room for almost 8.5 hours and there was no food, no water and I never even got a thank you! What the heck!! Our “boss” Priscilla told us no one could leave until the cleanup was done and just kept ordering us to do random things. After an hour and a half of cleaning up and being the only student to still stick around I took off, still without even a thanks.
Thanks CNN. For performing exactly as I had expected you to. For showing us that you could care less about those who wanted to help.
The political enthusiasts were out early cheering for candidates on Swenson Street by the Thomas & Mack Center parking lot at UNLV.
Mostly Clinton and Obama supporters were hollering and waving signs at 10 a.m. and when I returned to campus at 11:30 a.m. the crowd had grown.
“What are we?” yelled one group of Clinton fans, to which another group responded: “Clinton country!”
“O-bam-a!” replied the group of Obama fans sporting red shirts.
Each side had a loudspeaker and the crescendo of dueling chants made me think for a few moments that I was somewhere other than UNLV, a place where apathy is in attendance at most university events.
The passing motorists also showed their enthusiasm by honking to the cheers of the supporters. But with both groups of supporters so close together, both groups thought the honks were for their candidate.
The crowds and the cheers are sure to get louder as the countdown to the debate continues.
The Cox Pavilion is resting, all gussied up for its big day tomorrow.It’s not often this building gets to house piles of national and local media members and presidential hopefuls for an evening of political mayhem.
At 7 p.m. sound waves from the ONE Rocks concert were bouncing off the east pavilion wall, creating an allusion that the building was the one putting on the show.
There should be some shows going on inside the walls tomorrow.Kristen Ruby and I will be snooping around the spin room and filing room, equipped with all the fun technological toys needed to blog about the chaos that is to come.
But right now it’s quiet – few creatures are stirring.
I didn’t know CNN=politics. I thought CNN=a news network. But apparently I’m mistaken, according to the sign CNN has on the back of their trailer.
I took these pictures on campus today around 12:45 p.m.
CNN set up shop near the Central Desert Complex and were doing on the spot interviews with students. The reporter asked questions like “what issues are important to you?” and “politics mean…?.”
The girl being interviewed in this shot was actually working the stand for Republican candidate Ron Paul. The stand was located across from CNN’s operation. She also informed me that Ron Paul will be on campus on Monday.
“Express Yourself” was playing on loudspeakers and CNN reps were talking over the song trying to get people to answer trivia questions for free prizes. What free prizes? CNN gear. Because nothing is better than having some pictures of students on a college campus wearing your company logo.
What I enjoyed most was taking pictures of the people taking pictures of us. I am surprised no one said anything to me, but I was using my camera phone.
The media circus really wasn’t what I was expecting today. Tomorrow will probably be a different animal.
