St. Mary's College students Jacqueline Caminiti, Elizabeth LeBlanc, Austin Lyman, Molly McKee (standing left to right), and Samuel Birnbaum (seated right) along with assistant professor Todd Eberly (seated left) met with Delaware Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden (seated center) at the College Convention 2008 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The students encouraged Senator Biden to visit St. Mary's College prior to the Maryland primary in February. (Photo credit: Todd Eberly)
ST MARY'S CITY, Md. (Dec. 4, 2007)—Five St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) students became instant political pundits after attending New Hampshire's College Convention 2008 last Wednesday through Saturday. The students won an essay contest and travelled to the convention where they met with most of the presidential candidates.
The student are Sam Birnbaum '09, of Sharpsburg, Maryland; Jacqueline Caminiti, '09, of Ijamsville, Maryland; Elizabeth LeBlanc, '08, of Lynnfield, Massachusetts; Austin Lyman, '10, of Birmingham, Alabama; and Molly McKee, '08, Hyattsville, Maryland.
Collectively, the student group included two Democrats, one Republican and one independent candidate.
Todd Eberly, assistant professor of political science and Michael Cain, assistant professor of political science and acting director of the Center of Democracy also attended.
The contest and trip was sponsored by the Center for the Study of Democracy and the political science department.
The students interacted with presidential candidates, media personalities, issue experts, and got a first hand look at the workings of democracy.
They will give other SMCM students and the public their insights into the presidential candidates they met at a forum on Thursday at 4:40 p.m. in the Daugherty-Palmer Commons on the north campus. The forum is billed as an informal discussion of candidates, issues and perceptions.