By Katie KrahulikSTAFF WRITER
As 2016 presidential candidates geared up for a weekend of debates and speeches, Hofstra students boarded buses for a chance to witness history at the New Hampshire primary on Saturday Feb. 6. Students gained insight on the primary process and on the history of New Hampshire politics. They also heard several speeches about policy and decision making from candidates and were given a chance to speak directly with some influential political figures. Sophomore Amanda Benizzi, public relations major and political science minor, shared stories about her experience on the trip. “The first stop was the University of New Hampshire where a lecture was given on the history of the New Hampshire primary and its significance in the race for the presidential nomination. From there, we went to a National Review (NR) debate-watching party in a hotel lounge in Manchester, New Hampshire. We viewed members of the NR talk about the candidates, and then we watched the GOP debate,” Benizzi said. The following days included more travel, but offered an even greater exposure to the presidential candidates. “Sunday started with the Jeb Bush rally in Salem, New Hampshire. Then we went to a rally for Marco Rubio. Monday we went to Concord, New Hampshire’s capital, and went into the state house to speak with legislators. From there, we went to Hillary Clinton’s rally where not all of us got in because of the campaign’s poor planning. Afterwards, we went to the Bernie Sanders rally in Derry, New Hampshire,” Benizzi said. Benizzi, along with other Hofstra students, also had the chance to personally speak to some of the leading candidates in the primary. “I actually met Marco Rubio who is my choice for the Republican nominee,” said Benizzi. “It was pretty awesome seeing the different types of people at each rally. I also got asked to be a volunteer for the Bernie Sanders rally where I got to talk to members of the press as well as help to make sure the event went well and ran smoothly. Though I’m not a Democrat, it was great for me to see the other side of the issues and to work on a campaign in general. I also got called onstage to stand behind Bernie as he gave his speech, and afterwards I got to meet him.” Freshman journalism major Tia De Salvo also attended the trip. “While I’ve always been into politics, this is the first presidential campaign that I’m not only able to vote in, but where some of the issues in the election are quite relevant to my future,” she said. Dr. David M. Green, a political science professor at Hofstra, has been the primary coordinator of the trip since 2003. He emphasized the increase in size and extravagance of the New Hampshire trip in regards to past years. “The first trip we did was just about 10 kids and myself in a minivan. That worked out so well that we just started doing it again and again every four years. Having done it many times now, we actually developed a few contacts and had a couple really special events.” Green recounted some of the many events he and the students went to, including a briefing about what the primaries are by University of New Hampshire professor, Andrew Smith, who is an expert on the New Hampshire primaries. Green also talked about meeting with Senator Lou D’Allesandro in the House of Representative chambers in the capitol building. “Because we’ve done this many times, we’ve established relationships with those two in particular, and they always do an event for us,” said Green. Aside from the group of students attending the trip for political purposes, John Mullen, the director of operations at WRHU Radio, led a group of students involved in the radio station to cover the New Hampshire primaries. Junior political science major Juliana Spano described her experience as a representative of the radio station. “We went up to report on different events, but we also had a station in the media center at the Radisson Hotel, which is where all the media was stationed and we stayed at radio row, which is where all the radio stations are located.” Spano was with a small group of just four students that included reporter Justine Re, junior Bernie Dennler who is the station manager, and reporter Gary Duff. On Sunday, the group went to a Donald Trump rally. “We got there and I was trying to keep my cool,” Spano said. “I’ll never forget this. One protester was screaming something at him, and Donald Trump replied to him saying, ‘Oh, you’re not a protester. You’re a friend.’ We actually got that on tape, and I used that for a news package,” Spano said. Of the trip overall, Dr Green concluded, “The students were really great. They were smart, respectful. They had great questions and great reactions. I think they were excited, and they represented Hofstra well.”