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In Brief

Sugaring Time Again; Former President Writes Autobiography; Alum Signs with Baseball Team; News from the Nursing and Business Administration Departments and more.

Making Their Mark

Learn about how our community members engage in writing, presentations and exhibitions.

Past as Prologue

Explore Haystack, a portal to the history of Colby-Sawyer College.

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Solidus

This new literary magazine features creative writing in many genres by current students and alumni, faculty and staff, and a few friends and partners.

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Find out what Colby-Sawyer alumni have been up to since graduation.

Currents: be the change you seek

Changing the World through Political Activism

By Amber Cronin '11

It's the day before the New Hampshire Primary, and people are clapping, screaming and cheering as if anticipating the arrival of a rock star. In the midst of the excitement, a college student makes her way through the crowd, pushing toward the rail. When she makes it, she can finally see what everyone is searching for: a tall, thin African-American man running for president of the United States. Sophomore Xanthe Hilton squirms as she waits for Barack Obama to make his way down the line to shake her hand.

“How's it going, nice to see you again,” he says when he finally reaches her.

“I'm voting for you tomorrow,” Hilton responds. It is her third meeting with the future president.

Hilton, a native of south central Pennsylvania, became involved with politics during her high school years. “I took a government class senior year,” she said. “When I told my professor I was going to college in New Hampshire, he said, 'You should get involved with the political scene because their primaries are first, and next year is an election year.'” Hilton took those words to heart and became a full-time volunteer for the Obama campaign.

“When I got here the only name that really caught my attention was Barack Obama's, and instantly the campaign hopped on me and asked if I wanted to get involved,” said Hilton. She told the campaign that she would volunteer, but on a limited basis. Her plan did not exactly work out the way she expected. After meeting Obama two or three times--she has now met the future resident five times total--she found herself wanting more involvement with his campaign.

A Key Player in Pivotal States

During primary season, along with her schoolwork and responsibilities on campus that include her role as a resident assistant (RA), a Student Government Association (SGA) senator, student representative to three different committees, and involvement in several clubs, Hilton served as a full-time volunteer doing outreach programs. After the primary season ended in the Northeast, she became a sort of cheerleader on campus for the Obama campaign. Over the summer, however, it was a different story.

Hilton moved to Toledo, Ohio, to work as a fellow, organizing campaign fundamentals and activities to engage the community and build the movement. The city where Hilton worked and the county that surrounds it ultimately voted Democrat after 40 years of voting Republican.

“On a personal level the program allowed for me to understand what a small difference I, one person, can make, she said. “Working as an Obama fellow gave me the confidence that I can change the world. I already have.”

Once the fellows training was completed, she moved on to other duties. “We had to register voters; it was critical to get people registered to vote and then track those people, and call them on Election Day to make sure they could vote,” she said.

“I found that people were a little nervous about going out and asking other people how they are planning to vote, but what people were interested in was opening up their homes to a staffer and having someone live with them or bring in lasagna once a week until Election Day,” she said. “We had one woman who catered our office every week for the entire time I was in Ohio, which was amazing.”

Ramping Up for the Final Stretch

After completing her volunteer work in Ohio, Hilton made the long trip back to New London. “I know a lot of people who joined on as paid staff for the election, but because of commitments here at school I couldn't do that,” she said. “But I made it a month-long journey to drive back to school. I stopped at home for a bit, I volunteered in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and volunteered in New Hampshire for two weeks before school started.”

Her work in politics was far from over upon her return, however. Back in New Hampshire, Hilton began working as an organizer on campus and as unpaid staff for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Hilton, along with several other Colby-Sawyer students, spent the evening of Nov. 4 in Wheeler Hall anxiously awaiting the declaration of the next president. When the announcement came in, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“It was kind of euphoric for me. It really felt like I had worked for the past 14 months to get this man elected and it finally happened,” she said.

Hilton spent her summer volunteering for a cause she really believes in. What will she remember the most? Not how all the work she did paid off in the end, but the people she met along the way. “A major part of [the Obama campaign] was telling your story, and telling his or her story. I listened to all those stories and carried them with me with everything that I did.”

One thing Hilton will always remember is the work that people did to get people involved in the campaign, gathering supporters and registering voters. She recalls that while they were registering people to vote, one of her friends called a woman and asked her if she was interested in registering. It was the last day to register, and she wanted to vote, but she had just had a baby and was still in the hospital. Within half an hour, the new mother was registered to vote.

“That shaped this woman's life; she had a role in choosing who was going to run her country and who was going to shape her new baby's life,” said Hilton. “That's what I think is great about politics, that such a small act, like giving up your life for six weeks, can change the world.”

With her busy schedule as an RA in Burpee Hall, an SGA senator, a campus organizer and a laundry list of other activities, Hilton harbors her own political ambitions and seems to be well on her way to playing an important role in the future of this country. “I plan on, if circumstances need be, fulfilling that position and running for office.”