Two students from Witten/Herdecke University accompany the US election campaign as volunteers

On 5 November 2024, the next president will be elected in the USA. The election campaign is the dominant topic on the ground. Never before have there been so many volunteers as this year. Simon Shaw and Victor Wolff, students at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Society at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H), are among them. As full-time volunteers, they are supporting the final days of the election campaign for Kamala Harris as part of the Democrats' team.

In the thick of the action: Experiencing election campaign methods up close

The two are studying PPÖ - Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Management at UW/H and have already been on site for a fortnight. "In the first few days here, we were able to try out the main election campaign methods," reports Simon Shaw. This includes writing postcards, calling citizens and also going from door to door. As a result, they have already had many personal conversations with local voters; they are currently travelling to universities in Pennsylvania to engage with students there. In doing so, they are meeting interested students, both undecided and leaning Trump or Harris voters, who are usually open to dialogue.

Simon Shaw and Victor Wolff have also already been able to experience some election campaign events live: they had the opportunity to meet Doug Emhoff, the Second Gentleman of the USA, and also to see Donald Trump at one of his appearances.

"Instead of responding to the voters, he played an epic version of Ave Maria and presented himself on stage," reports Victor Wolff, who sees being able to actively shape the election campaign in this way as a great opportunity. "The outcome of the election affects us directly; democracy and the protection of the rule of law are at stake."

Political theory meets practice

For the two students, the visit not only offers the opportunity to experience the US election campaign up close, but also to see and apply the knowledge they have gained during their studies in practice. "Here on site, we can see live how political decision-making processes really work and how different they are compared to Germany," says Simon Shaw. The students will be in the USA for another four weeks and want to attend an event organised by Kamala Harris soon. They will watch election night together with the other volunteers on site in Pennsylvania.

More information:
Simon Shaw and Victor Wolff will be sharing impressions of their trip on the UW/H Instagram channel and are ready for interviews