Spring 2007 - Milton Academy

headquarters in Charlestown. Theirturnout on Saturdays and Sundays duringthe school year made them the most consistentgroup of student volunteers of anyage, a notable achievement in a campaignfueled by youth volunteerism. Many ofthem heard the candidate speak on numerousoccasions—at the College Democratsconvention in Somerville, on the UMassBoston campus, at the Holiday Inn inBrookline—and with numerous other dignitaries,including Senator Barack Obama,Senator Ted Kennedy, and Fomer PresidentBill Clinton. They held signs, cheeredfamiliar lines, and observed the subtlechanges in the stump speech as the campaignwore on. Eliza remembered: “Forme, the best moment on the campaignhappened during my Class III year…It wasrainy and there were only about 50 peoplethere, but he spoke with as much intensityas he did later in front of thousands of people.At that point, the campaign had nomoney, people were talking about [the campaign]collapsing, and about half of all thestudent volunteering was being done byF.L.A.G. members, but Patrick spoke as ifwe were leading the polls no contest. Iremember thinking that, even if the campaignnever got out of the parking lot, myeffort wasn’t being wasted.”Some students took their support forPatrick a step further and became internsin his campaign; among them were AliciaDriscoll in the summer of 2005 andHannah Lauber and Tina Nguyen (allClass I) in the summer of 2006. Asinterns, Hannah said, “we sent out hundredsof mailings, made phone calls, set upcanvass packets for people from all over thestate and went canvassing ourselves. Wemade what the campaign managers talkedabout a reality.”Both the interns and the many MiltonAcademy volunteers had the opportunity tosee a remarkable campaign take shape andto participate every step of the way. Aliciaremembers that, “One of my favorite experienceson the campaign was watching oneof Governor Patrick’s first televised interviewsalong with the other interns and gettingto share my thoughts and reactions.At that point, I really felt as though my perspectivemattered.” F.L.A.G. membersMassachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick,Milton Academy Class of 1974gathered signatures, sent their parents totown caucuses, staffed the polls the day ofthe primary, discussed the gubernatorialdebates with friends and neighbors, andmade final Get-Out-The-Vote phone callson Election Day. As the grass-roots campaigngrew from that small group in theparking lot to a statewide movement, so didthe students’ sense of accomplishment andachievement. “It made me nervous to seeso many commercials on TV for Gabrieli orKerry [Healey], but none for Deval. But atthe same time, I knew that I was part ofwhat was keeping him in the game,”reported Zach.Echoing Zach’s remarks, all of the students—about30 all told—experienced elationat every Patrick success and evenredoubled their efforts for a final victory asTheir turnout on Saturdaysand Sundays during theschool year made them themost consistent group ofstudent volunteers of anyage, a notable achievement ina campaign fueled by youthvolunteerism.the race got closer. Eliza revealed that, “Myfavorite campaign activity was phone bankingin the last stretch of the race. Cominginto a room full of mostly teenagers andcollege students, finding a little corner towork in, and praying that I had enough freeminutes on my cell phone to keep mymom from killing me for making five hundredphone calls in one afternoon—that’swhen I knew I was part of somethinghuge.” Gail Waterhouse, Class II, alsoremembered the last weeks of the campaignas a highlight, saying, “The bestmoment of the campaign was going downto Worcester a couple weeks before theelection for a rally. President Clinton andSenator Kennedy, two very inspirationalspeakers, were there…So many peopleshowed up to give support to Deval Patrickand Tim Murray—I think we filled theentire Worcester DCU Center. I came awayfrom that experience completely reenergizedand ready to finish out the campaignstrong.”That energy clearly paid off. On theevening of Tuesday, November 7, 2006,several of the Milton Academy studentswho trickled into the Hynes ConventionCenter were wearing their neon green teeshirtsfrom the 2005 Platform Convention.Many arrived straight from headquarters;other students had volunteered to staff theElection Night event, while still othersarrived directly from after-school commitments.As the group gathered in the Centerof the packed convention Center andrumors that the TV news stations hadcalled the election for Patrick began to fly,the students exchanged high-fives andhugs, feeling as though this victory wastheir victory. They had experienced—andcontributed to—the rare case of a politicalunderdog’s come-from-behind win. As Gailput it, “Everyone complains about how apatheticteens are toward current events, andI think that students getting involved in agubernatorial campaign really turned headsand made people realize that what Devalhad to say was important and that his ideaswere innovative and exciting.”Kenzie Bok ’07Tara Venkatraman ’0736 Milton Magazine