At Cal State Chico, Coeds Say They Only Date Obama Voters

This story was written by Meghan Moriarty, The Orion

Wild winds and 11 a.m. classes didn't stop 12 women from showing their support for Sen. Barack Obama on Oct. 9.

Clad in blue shirts that read: "I only date boys who are pro choice & pro Obama & registered to vote as a Democrat," the students chanted "Obama," as they gathered for 10 minutes in the Free Speech Area.

When the bell tower rang, they said their goodbyes and scattered off to class.

Junior Tori Hamilton, president of Chico State Students for Barack Obama, was the catalyst for the brief affair that took place amid the techno music and tables for Queer Week.

"We wanted to get a really diverse group of women to show that we are all unified through Obama," Hamilton said.

The idea spawned a week before at the Chico Democratic Headquarters on 600 Main St. and was circulated by word-of-mouth, she said.

The Chico Democratic Club, a city organization that campaigns to get Democrats into office at the local, state and federal levels, donated the shirts, said Erica McLane, a volunteer at the Chico Democratic Headquarters.

Hamilton does not agree with the Republican Party or Sen. John McCain's choice to nominate Gov. Sarah Palin for vice president, she said.

"As a female, I support Barack Obama because I think it was a huge slap in the face that McCain nominated Palin," Hamilton said. "I know that I vote with my brain and not with my gender."

Although the arduously described man on the women's shirts was an ideal, Sarah Mann, vice president of Chico State Students for Barack Obama, said she would still date a man who didn't fit the mold.

"I probably wouldn't be with someone who wasn't pro-choice, but everyone has their own opinion," Mann said.

If a man was a Republican, that wouldn't rule him out, Mann said. If a man is intelligent and passionate about politics, party barriers are likely to be broken.

"One of my best friends is a Republican," she said.