Early in the fall term, participants will be assigned specific roles to play for the entire Mock Presidential Election.
Professors and Graduate Students
Professors and Graduates Assistants are responsible for assigning roles and identification numbers, explaining the process, administering survey instruments, determining participation points, and supervising specific aspects of the simulation. Approximately 100 Professors and Graduate Assistants will be needed over the course of the semester.
Campaign Managers
The key to a successful simulation depends on getting competent student leaders to serve as Campaign Managers for the respective presidential candidates. The Campaign Managers are the field generals for the respective camps. They develop strategy, marshal forces, speak on behalf of the candidates and serve as spokespersons for the campaigns. Campaign Managers can be drawn from upper division courses. We are especially interested in finding honor students who have extensive debate experience. Likely leaders can be drawn from the Student Government Association, Honors College, College Democrats, College Republicans, Campus Greens, College Libertarians and other campus organizations. We seek approximately 20 Campaign Managers to represent each viable presidential hopeful in the 2008 race. To help distribute the workload, Campaign Managers are encouraged to appoint Assistant Campaign Managers, Deputy Campaign Managers, Volunteer Coordinators, Communication Directors, to suggest just a few.
Campaign Field Workers
Every presidential camp must have Field Workers to promote their respective candidates. Field Workers will generally come from upper-division courses. They will be responsible for learning the candidate’s positions and promoting their candidate throughout the simulation. They will hand out literature, cajole convention delegates, and seek votes. The simulation will require about 20 to 50 Field Workers per presidential candidate.
Newspaper Editors and Reporters
No presidential simulation would be complete without the “fourth branch of government.” The Mock Presidential Election will publish one newspaper under the auspices of the WIU Department of Journalism. The mock newspaper will have Editors to oversee the content, a dozen editorial writers, and approximately two dozen Reporters will write stories about events as they unfold. Most of these participants be drawn from journalism classes. Every newspaper will produce four issues running about four pages (single-spaced, double column) each. The paper will be produced electronically on the Mock Webpage and via hard copy with the assistance of the DPS.
Broadcast Journalists
In addition to print journalism, we plan to have mock Broadcast Journalists as well. We will need several news anchors and roving reporters to broadcast events live on monitors set up in the Mock Conventions. Students will be recruited from the Communications Department to fulfill these roles. We will need approximately 20 students plus support staff.
State Delegates/Voters/Electors
The vast majority of the students will play the role of Delegates. Early on, students will be divided equally into Democrats or Republicans. Each Delegate will be assigned to represent a particular state during the simulation. Delegates will be apportioned according to the state’s population and respective party rules. A Chair will head each state delegation. It will be the Chair’s responsibility to distribute information, explain state rules, count votes and announce results. The Delegates and Chairs will be drawn from undergraduate classes, especially the First Year Experience (FYE) classes. Those who serve as Delegates will also be Electors on the final session.
United States Senators and Representatives
We will draw upon upper division students to play the role of United States Senators and Representatives. Additionally, in the event that no presidential nominee secures the requisite 270 Electoral College votes on the final session, the vote will be thrown into the United States Congress where the House of Representatives (each state casting one vote) will decide who will be President and the Senate (each state casting one vote) will decide who will be the Vice President.
