As part of the Road to the White House 2024 course, a group of 24 USF students traveled to South Carolina to work on the frontlines of the U.S. presidential campaign trail.
The 10-day internship experience segmented students into campaign experiences working for both the Republican campaigns of Donald J. Trump and Nikki Haley, as well as the Democratic state-wide campaigns leading up to the South Carolina primary on Feb. 25.
The course, offered through the College of Arts and Sciences School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies and open to students of any major, consists of a total of 6 credit hours鈥�3 seminar-based and 3 internship-based鈥� and aims to provide students knowledge on the history and politics of U.S. presidential campaigns.
Dr. Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan, associate professor, said this was the sixth cohort of students she鈥檚 taken on this experience and the first ever to South Carolina鈥攏ormally they travel to New Hampshire.
鈥淲e can sit here in Davis Hall, and we can read a textbook about what a presidential campaign is, what a presidential campaign strategy is. But, unless you're actually in the thick of it, you can鈥檛 truly understand what it鈥檚 like. I鈥檓 a big believer in experiential learning,鈥� Scourfield explained as to why she designed the course in this way.
Students experienced the whole gamut of what it takes to 鈥渨in a presidential campaign,鈥� she said.
Daily experiences included guest speakers during seminars at the hotel, followed by field trips to places such as the South Carolina State House in Columbia, the South Carolina Governor鈥檚 mansion, the South Carolina Democratic and Republican parties followed by campaign work in the afternoons and evenings including experiences such as 鈥渞etail politics鈥� at local diners, news conferences, rallies, phone banking, and canvassing.
Students also updated a live to recap their political campaign experience, which took place from Feb. 16 to Feb. 25.
Upon returning to 91社区, the students showcased their experiences in a panel discussion held at the Poynter Library at the USF St. Petersburg campus.
鈥淓very single person we spoke to on this trip is someone who wants the best for the country, I鈥檓 convinced of this. We disagree on what the best may be; we disagree on how to get there, but fundamentally, we're all Americans and we all want something good to happen to America. I think the firsthand experience we got here can tell us that these people are more like us than different from us, and they don't hate us. We need to work together. We need to talk to them. We need to ask their perspective,鈥� , a political science student who worked in the South Carolina Democratic primary, said. 鈥淏ecause through that knowledge and through that understanding鈥攚hich can't be received over news, trust me鈥攚e may have a better shot for being a unified people and a peaceful people in times that only seem more chaotic. And I think this trip really opened my eyes to that.鈥�
, who is majoring in economics and worked for the Nikki Haley campaign, described how he spent most of his time canvassing in both affluent and lower socioeconomic neighborhoods.
鈥淚 definitely spoke to a diverse group of voters,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 spoke to Democrats, trying to convince them to vote in the primary, I spoke to Trump supporters, spoke to Haley supporters, spoke to some people who never even had voted before and were completely disengaged in politics. It was just interesting because I had no political experience going into this, and I didn't really understand quite how much information there was in figuring out where we're going to put these offices, where the staging areas were and so on,鈥� Rubino said.
For Lana Sleiman, a senior political science student minoring in French and francophone studies who worked the South Carolina Democratic primary, the most impactful part of the experience was engaging with Democratic South Carolina Representative Jermaine Johnson.
鈥淗is story and his background of how he got into the state legislature and how he never envisioned having his career there was really touching,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e came from a rough background and had a hard upbringing. Then, to see him use that as a motivation to want to change Congress鈥攈e's one of the youngest people in the South Carolina legislature right now鈥攁nd to see him want to work with the youth and communities of color was really motivating because right now, as we can see, we're having a lot of issues with our nation's aging legislators. And, to see a breath of fresh air was really great.鈥�
Political science student said speaking with individuals in the community while campaigning for Trump was an experience he will always remember.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 get this guy out of my head,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was canvassing, and I talked to an 82-year-old immigrant who lived under Castro. He was the last house [to visit] and it was super cold. I started talking to the guy, you know making conversation鈥攈e's a big truck driver too鈥攁nd he just started crying and telling me his life story, even trying to get us to come get dinner with him. It was heartfelt,鈥� he said.
, a political science major who worked the South Carolina Democratic primary, found the course to be impactful to her personally as she enters the stage of becoming a voter herself.
鈥淔or me this was really an insightful experience. Getting to learn more about the election process鈥� because this is going to be my first year voting鈥攁nd I want to be able to cast a vote that matters. I feel like I'm growing up in an age where the political sphere is really polarized. And, so, for me, Rep. Johnson was also a highlight. But beyond his motivational story, I found it inspiring how he's able to bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans and come together for a firm solution. He was all about pushing for communities between the two parties. And I found that very admirable; I hope that we start seeing more people like Rep. Johnson in the future and maybe we can stop being so polarized.鈥�
Learn more about the Road to the White House course offered through the College of Arts and Sciences School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies.