Students Prepare for Election

With Election Day less than a week away, Harvard students involved in both major campaigns are gearing up for the home stretch.

Thirty to 40 Dukakis supporters will campaign in Hartford, Connecticut this Saturday, said Linda D. Rottenberg '90, chairperson for Harvard Students for Dukakis-Bentsen.

"Getting people out to vote is the key. Students can really make a difference," Rottenberg said, explaining that students are targeting Connecticut because the campaign expects a close race there.

The students will help out at Dukakis headquarters in Hartford by arranging rides to the polls, distributing leaflets and posting signs, she said.

Although Republican students will not be going as far afield, they will also be making a last-minute push for their candidate, said Rick S. Louie '90, co-chair of the Harvard Students for Bush.

A group of pro-Bush students from Harvard will rally on the steps of the Statehouse in Boston this afternoon along with other Bush supporters, Louie said. There will be another rally in which Harvard students will participate this Saturday, he said.

Republicans are not campaigning on campus because it would be "too controversial and would have no impact nationally," Louie said. All this week, Republican students are holding Bush/Quayle placards at the Park Street T stop and other congested areas during rush hour, Louie said.

Backers of Dukakis, who has been trailing in national polls, said last minute campaigning could sway voters who are not firmly set on either candidate. "Unstable polls show that voter support is still changing," said Rottenberg.

Student backers of both candidates will staff regional headquarters on Election Day and call voters to remind them to visit the polls, student campaign officials said.

Down-to-the-wire campaigning is not restricted to the College, as Kennedy School students this weekend will campaign in Vermont, a state generally regarded as up-for-grabs, said Jonathan S. Miller '89, a member of Harvard Students for Dukakis-Bentsen.