Romney Backers To Get Cut Of Funds

As political candidates across the nation look for ways to galvanize youth voters, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s campaign is giving students the opportunity to cash in while helping out.

Students for Mitt, a Romney initiative, will allow any registered student who raises more than $1,000 for Romney to receive a 10 percent cut of the proceeds.

Students for Mitt is the brainchild of Romney’s youngest son and daughter-in-law, Craig and Mary Romney, and any student over 18 can apply to join the program. Students must be screened and approved by both Craig and Mary Romney to participate.

Students collect donations by distributing a username and password to an online account, which keeps track of the contributions they receive.

“We had a lot of students who want to get involved but can’t because of financial concerns...so combining students’ wanting to get involved with the fundraising part of the campaign seems like a great match,” said Harvard Law School student Sarah M. Isgur, who is the Boston coordinator of Students for Mitt.

Romney, who completed a joint program with Harvard’s Law and Business Schools, served as the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.

The program is just part of a string of efforts by the Romney campaign to target youth voters, according to campaign spokesman Alex Burgos.

Burgos also referred to Romney’s Facebook account, where the politician is purported to enjoy “horseback riding with my wife” and “waterskiing” as another move to reach out to younger citizens.

“Students who are getting involved in the program Students for Mitt aren’t just in it for the money,” Harvard Students for Romney Director Christopher W. Higgins ’10 said. “There are probably easier ways to make money somewhere as opposed to campaign fundraising.”

Ari S. Ruben ’08, co-director of Harvard Students for Hillary, criticized the Romney program, saying he believes it is geared toward students attending more affluent institutions.

“I think that it over-emphasizes money,” Ruben said. “It may work business-wise—Mr. Romney is a businessman—but I don’t think that would work in a Democratic primary. We’re too diverse.”

Higgins said, however, that he believes the program does not exclude students based on their financial situation.

“The skills necessary for fundraising are very interpersonal, and there’s no reason that someone from a lower socioeconomic background wouldn’t be able to gain those interpersonal skills.”

Higgins said that students should take advantage of their personal and professional connections to solicit funds from for the campaign.

“Students for Mitt is an innovative fundraising program geared towards engaging students in the political process and giving them another opportunity to volunteer for Governor Romney’s campaign,” Burgos said.