U. Wisconsin Student Delegate Talks Obama

This story was written by Carl Jaeger, Badger Herald

DENVER-- Campaign officials have called the University of Wisconsins Students for Obama chapter one of the largest and most active in the country. Students for Obama Fundraising and Logistics Chair and UW junior Bryon Eagon-- who is also a delegate for Wisconsins second congressional district-- sat down with The Badger Herald upon his arrival to Denver to discuss presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the Democratic National Convention and the role Students for Obama will play on the UW campus leading up to the general presidential election Nov. 4.

The Badger Herald: Now that youre in Denver, what are your feelings about being here and what is going to happen in the next couple days?

Bryon Eagon: Im very excited to be part of the convention and representing students here in Denver. I look forward to meeting a lot of great people from around the state and around the country who share support for Sen. Obamas candidacy, and look forward to unify the party and coming out of the convention even stronger than we were going in.

BH: What role will you play in the convention?

BE: My main role here in Denver is to cast my vote as a delegate in support of Sen. Obama for the second congressional district of Wisconsin, but also to be a voice and be present for students to show that students votes matter and show that this campaign understands students and engages students in the political process.

BH: Why are you supporting Obama for president?

BE: Sen. Obama understands students-- from ending the war in Iraq to expanding health care to all Americans, protecting the environment, while creating new jobs and also engaging todays youth in the political process. (This) shows Senator Obama has the right policies but also the right character to lead this country.

BH: What are you most looking forward to while in Denver?

BE: The thing Im looking forward to the most is the speech at Invesco. Sen. Obamas speech in front of tens of thousands of people hopefully that can inspire the youth to become involved and play an active role on their campuses.

BH: What comes next for you after the convention?

BE: After the convention, its right back to work. We hope to turn over the energy and excitement after the convention to supporters and turn that energy into engagement on campuses.

BH: What are some of the things you will be doing on the UW campus?

BE: We want to show students that we have a presence, show students how they can become involved in this campaign, because the campaign is about students from issues to involvement, this campaign is based on supporting youth, and on campus, we want to show that theres ways to get involved. We want to show students and community members that Sen. Obama is the right candidate for them and then also engage them in the process.

BH: Lastly, how are you feeling about the election in November?

BE: We are looking forward to working hard to turn out every vote we can in a state where the last two elections were decided by the numbers of a few campus dorms or apartments turning out-- a handful of students here and there could be the deciding factor. So, we are optimistic, but we know its going to take a lot of hard work and thats why we need the support of students and we need them to become active.