Mock Campaign Participation

Mock Campaign Participation

(Updated 1 September 2004)

We will form campaign groups within our class. The groups will include the following roles: presidential candidate, vice-presidential running mate, campaign manager, staffer (4 students per campaign group, 2 groups). The campaign groups may not be Republican or Democrat; they must be either Independent, or a “third-party” such as Green, Reform, Libertarian, etc. Those students not assigned to one of the two campaign groups will serve as media members.

Those students who are not members of the campaigns, but instead serve as the news media, cover the campaigns and analyze their performances and materials. Each member of the news media will adopt one of the following positions: liberal, conservative, or middle (striving for “fair and balanced” coverage). The media will report from the indicated position for most of their assignments except for the final defense of choice for best-run campaign, which should be written as objectively as possible by all of the media members. Link to further guidelines for media.

Each campaign will develop a platform that shows its stands on a variety of issues, and then conduct a campaign according to the following tentative schedule:

Campaign Group Schedule

Sept. 13 (preferences due)	Getting to know the issues, parties (including 3rd parties), and election system, then indicating preferences for your roles
Sept. 14	Campaign groups and media pool assigned
Sept. 23	Platform and biography due
Oct. 5	Website or brochure due; link to guidelines
Oct. 12	First presidential debate (in classroom) (see below)
Oct. 21	Other advertising material or stump speech due
Oct. 29	Vice-presidential debate (Root Quad unless raining, then classroom)
Nov. 8	Second presidential debate (Kahn room during regular class period; business attire)
Nov. 12	News media votes for two winners: best-run campaign (objective), and who they would personally vote for if were a real election (subjective)

News Media Schedule

Sept. 13 (preferences due)	Getting to know the issues, parties, and election system, then indicating preferences for your roles
Sept. 27	Critiques of platforms and biographies due
Oct. 7	Critiques of websites and/or brochures due
Oct. 11	Email debate questions to Watt by class time
Oct. 18	Story reporting on first presidential debate due
Oct. 25	Critiques of further advertising materials due
Nov. 1	Story on vice-presidential debate due
Nov. 9	Comments on second presidential debate ready to share in roundtable
Nov. 12	Written defense of your choice for best-run campaign due

First Presidential Debate

The first presidential debate will be conducted in the classroom, and attire may be informal. Watt will serve as moderator, asking questions from a sheet compiled in consultation with the media. These questions will be directed to both candidates, who will each have 1 minute to answer the question (after which a bell will be rung). The order in which the candidates get a chance to respond will be according to a rotation. In addition, a candidate may ask the moderator for a chance to offer a 30-second rebuttal if the candidate wishes to respond to a statement made about him or her by another candidate. In addition, each media member will come with one surprise question.

Additional Campaign Materials

Campaigns might produce a 30-second, 60-second, or 90-second ad, as an audio or video recording, that airs on radio, television, or the internet. It could be an advocacy ad, or an attack ad, or a contrast ad.

Stump speeches should be 7-10 minutes, and could be delivered by the presidential candidate, the VP candidate, or both in class. It could be the official announcement of candidacy speech (like the examples we look at in class), or a speech announcing the VP running mate and/or the VP accepting that role, or a speech concentrating on a particular issue delivered before a special interest group or at a state party meeting, for example.

I'm open to hearing about parallel ideas and to discussing them with the campaigns. Or you can just surprise me.

Vice-Presidential Debate

If it is raining, the debate will be held in the classroom. Otherwise, it will be held in Root Quadrangle, the southeast section (near south end of wall that runs along Moench). Attire is open (not specified). A/V will take care of videotaping, with mic. Watt will serve as moderator, asking questions from a sheet compiled in consultation with the media. These questions will be directed to both candidates, who will each have 1 minute to answer the question (after which a buzzer will sound). The order in which the candidates get a chance to respond will be according to a rotation, beginning in alphabetical order by the VP’s last name. In addition, a candidate may ask the moderator for a chance to offer a 30-second rebuttal if the candidate wishes to respond to a statement made about him or her by another candidate. Each media member and each campaign will have the opportunity to ask one surprise question: please catch Watt’s attention when you are ready to ask your question. The surprise questions may be directed to either a single candidate or both candidates.

Grades

Each campaign will be assigned a letter grade--for each assignment, and overall-- based on instructor evaluation of the group’s success and apparent effort, taking into account the observations of the news media (from their assignments above). In addition, each campaign group member will complete a group member evaluation form, and the feedback received from these will determine the student’s individual grade, which may vary from the group grade by up to one full letter grade (that’s assuming some participation; if anyone fails to contribute to their group in any substantial way, that person would receive an F for this portion of the grade).

News media members will be graded on the quality of their individual assignments, as listed above. I will give you a letter-grade on each assignment as we go, and those will be averaged at the end to determine this portion of your grade.

Link to further guidelines for media.