College students during the 2008 presidential election proved they were a political force to be reckoned with by creating local campaign efforts as well as making pilgrimages to nearby swing states. One major spearhead of these student shock troops was Brian Spittler, a 24-year-old political science major from Bountiful, who galvanized local voters to helped elect Barack Obama.

Recent polls suggest college students can take some of the credit for the triumph of president-elect Obama, whose progressive campaign of “change” caught and held the allegiance of a traditionally fickle voting demographic.

According to a national poll of students conducted by the National Student/Parent Mock Election project during the first week of November, Obama was a clear leader in young voters’ affections with 515 mock electoral votes as opposed to McCain’s 23 votes. The question on everyone’s mind at that point was whether students would come through in the polls and influence the real election.

The college age group has historically been mocked by the media for its tendency to hop on the bandwagon of electoral excitement and then peter out come election day, said John Stewart, a popular political satirist and host of the Daily Show.

“Every four years, we hear about your ‘vote rocking’ powers, and every four years you stay home and play Super Mario. Not this time!” Stewart said during a Nov. 3 show.

Spittler’s story is a prime ex-ample of how inaccurate certain pigeonholes can be.

“We're not the apathetic mis-nomer that we've been labeled as,” Spittler said. “Our issues are important; we are a constituency that needs to be listened to.”

Spittler, whose initial goal was to attend medical school, found himself captivated and inspired by president-elect Obama’s 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention. When Obama announced his candidacy in 2007, Spittler felt moved to support the Democratic candidate, even though his own Utah upbringing was pretty strictly conservative.

“I said you know, that's some-one I can really get behind, someone I could be ‘for’ instead of just being ‘against’ the other guy,” Spittler said.

Upon enrolling at BYU, Spittler chose the political science ma-jor, joined the BYU Democrats club and eventually founded his own group called BYU Students for Barack Obama.

The group, which originated on the popular networking Web site Facebook, grew to include over 200 members and was the perfect vehicle for Spittler to inform and include BYU stu-dents in weekly canvassing trips to neighboring swing states organized through the DNC.

“Brian basically sacrificed his whole life to organize people to go campaign for Obama on the weekends and stuff,” said Randal Serr, president of BYU Democrats, a political science major from Paul, Idaho. “He likes it, but it's a sacrifice, I'm sure. He put forth more effort than anyone else I know around here.”

Students said this year’s election changed perceptions of the college-aged voter in several ways.

“Students in the college age group made a huge difference in this election, not just with campaigning but with voting,” said Peter Snyder, a 21-year-old psychology major from Annandale, Va.

There were approximately 750 Utah student volunteers who contributed to Obama’s 2008 campaign, and more than 20 percent were BYU students.

Snyder said he participated in nearly every campaign trip Spittler planned. “I felt like I was making an impact,” Snyder said.

Spittler said BYU students are reliable to “show up” in behalf of good causes.

“We don't have the final numbers in, but just from the previ-ous voting cycle in 2004, youth involvement in the primaries has quadrupled,” said Spittler. “A lot of young people really showed up, to where it was the deciding factor in a lot of these states.”

In addition to leading the BYU Democrats in Colorado, Spittler ran and was elected by members of the DNC as a national delegate, representing the 3rd Congressional District for Utah. Before holding this title, Spittler had to first become elected at local, county, and state levels, a process he said was long and arduous.

According to his Political Science 150 teacher, Spittler had a lot of arduous trials during the campaign, but he never let them affect his fervor.

“He got his car stolen while in Denver for the Democratic Convention, and it had his pa-per [for the class] on the hard drive [of the computer],” said Wade Jacoby, director of BYU’s European Center and political science professor. The paper was due the next day. When Spittler called to ask what he should do, Jacoby’s answer was "Write a new paper." He said Spittler didn't complain once, simply writing a new version of the paper on the car ride home.

“I'm hoping that someone else was driving,” Jacoby said.

Some might say that all of these accomplishments at such a young age would be plentiful cause to gloat, but Spittler is far from prideful.

“I'm no one special,” Spittler said. “I wasn't born to a political family, I wasn't anything special to say the least, but I was able to take a part in this election.” Spittler credits his involvement to the well-oiled machine that is the US democratic system.

Despite Spittler’s humility, his elder peers in the DNC raved about Spittler’s unique talents and overall dedication to the campaign.

“Brian was wonderful,” said Nikki Norton, a field director for the Obama campaign. “He was a great leader; a great per-son to put in charge. He easily adjusted to circumstances on the ground but always stuck to his values.”

Ultimately, it was those values that propelled Spittler into a position of respect at such a young age, and had his family and colleagues hoping for a brighter political future.

“We are really proud of Brian and what he's done, and it wouldn't surprise me if he be-comes a public servant down the road,” said Brian’s father, Kent Spittler.

As of now, Spittler is unsure if he will continue to pursue a career in politics.

“I’m keeping my options open,” Spittler said.

Copyright Brigham Young University 18 Nov 2008