In a state full of colleges and universities, the student vote would be hard to overlook in this year's Massachusetts statewide elections.

With the passage of the motor-voter bill last year, top Democratic leaders in the state are predicting the increased importance of the student vote. Candidates running for congressional seats and the governor's office are using students to get their word out on campuses and are tailoring platforms to address student concerns.

And budding politicians are taking advantage of the need for student support and are hooking themselves into campaigns for their first taste of politics.

Learning the Ropes

For most students, working on campaigns gives them a chance to learn the ropes and network with established, as well as rising, politicos.

"It is a good experience in politics and [students] can get a feel for what the campaign is about and they can learn more about local politics," says Mark N. Sheridan '95, one of many students working on the campaign of Mark Roosevelt '78 (D-Beacon Hill).

Sheridan says he researched his candidate's voting records and is trying to recruit Harvard students to help with his candidate's campaign.

Many student workers and volunteers, like Sheridan, man phone lines, organizes speeches on college campuses ad put up posters, learning while on the job. Others, however, are going to school--campaign school, that is.

The Republican State Committee encourages students to attend "campaign schools"--short weekend seminars on political races--as a way to increases their involvement in the campaign.

These schools teach students the "basic ins-and-outs of campaigning," including direct mail and fundraising. While the schools are non-partisan, most of the students who attend are politically conservative, chair of the Massachusetts College Republicans John, N. Racho says.

These political "boot camps" are part of a statewide effort to get students involved in the Republican Party, said Racho.

"College students are young, bright ad articulate," Racho says. "We need to open their vision so they understand what an impact they can make."

At Harvard, campus political groups are politicking themselves by campaigning and getting fellow students registered to vote.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Democrats plan to promote candidates' positions this semester and organize volunteers to work in campaign headquarters next fall, President Jomo A. Thorne '97 said.

"We would like to organize forums about health care and welfare in the spring ad invite Sen. [Edward M.] Kennedy ['54-'56] and [Rep.] Barney Frank ['61 (D-Mass.] to come speak to our group," Thorne said.