Washington University senior Matt Adler was recently chosen as a pledged delegate for Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) for the the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer. Adler will be representing the Missouri 3rd Congressional District. Student Life reporter Kat Zhao sat down with Adler to get the scoop on what it means to be a delegate to the convention, how students have been involved with the 2008 election and what to expect from the convention.
Student Life: What does it mean to be a pledged delegate?
Matt Adler: What it means to be a pledged delegate is that I have said that I will commit to voting for Barack Obama at the [Democratic] National Convention.
SL: What is the process for becoming a pledged delegate?
MA: I had to go through a precinct caucus and get selected from there to go on to the congressional caucus, which is what I won on Thursday. And the people who can vote on that caucus are precinct delegates, like me, who have made it past the first round.
SL: What does being a delegate mean to you?
MA: What this means to me personally is that this is so exciting. I really ran because I wanted to give young voters a voice in the process, and we've come out in record numbers this election season-not just in Missouri but around the country.
We've worked hard. I feel like we've really worked. And you saw on Election Day 75,000 young voters voted for Obama. He won by 10,000 votes. Without that turnout, it could have been very different.
Young people need to know they have a voice in government and [that] it is not just other people telling us what to do or think. I think we have a different approach to politics, and I think that is why Obama clicks with so many people our age.
I just wanted to make sure that beyond Election Day that we have a seat at the table, because we have issues, we have concerns, we have a different way of thinking about things. We are part of this coalition now.
SL: What do you plan to do while at the convention?
MA: I want to do some organizing with other young people there. I have started networking with other young delegates from Missouri. There were four other young people selected in Missouri on Thursday night. They are all students, some for Clinton, some for Obama. We want to make this last beyond Election Day and that's really the point I want to get to. It is an amazing opportunity to make this national. One thing I have been talking to friends about is the need to promote the idea of young people getting elected.
SL: What do you like about Obama's campaign?
MA: You can tell by the way Obama has run this campaign that he cares about the process, that he cares about the way in which he makes change happen. The morality of your means should match the morality of your ends. For me that is a fundamental value. That extends to the way he talks about reaching out to independents and Republicans, in a way that I don't hear from the Clinton campaign or any of the other campaigns.
People want honesty. They don't want someone who agrees with them on everything. They expect you to be honest.
SL: How do you connect personally with Obama?
MA: As a gay person and as someone who has divorced parents and lives with a single mother, there is something about people who have been stigmatized that he understands. For me, I really take it quite literally when he says "yes we can." When I see him succeed, I see me succeed. For me, Obama represents the possibility of something different.
SL: What are your plans beyond the convention?
MA: Beyond this, what I really want to do is work with other young people to run for delegate. If I can help somebody else to run, I would already think of that as a success. This isn't really about me. This is about people our age wanting a voice in the process. I will do my best to represent us.
