2008 Woodie Awards
Two different looks inside the National Convention
The Democratic National Convention
Jennifer Ryan
Issue date: 9/30/04 Section: Viewpoint
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Complaints over the closing of Interstate 95, the increase in commute time for city workers, and the altered T schedules had been mounting for weeks. Many Boston area residents disdained the notion of the Democratic National Convention taking over their city. But while people like my best friend grumbled about her four hour commute to and from her job at Children's Hospital, I babbled on about how I could not wait: July 25th through 29th, the Democratic National Convention, I would be there.
Well, not exactly there on the floor of the Fleet Center every night, but in the city of Boston participating in the Young Women's Leadership Conference that was run in conjunction with the Democratic Convention. I would spend four days attending workshops and conferences with young women from all across the country. I would hear prominent politicians speak on the political issues that affect women today. I would also be able to watch and debate the aspects of the convention with other people just as politically opinionated as I am.
Conventions are run as a way for political parties to more or less throw an expensive televised party for the country. The party includes celebrities, party delegates, and politicians. For four days, well-known speakers extol the wonders of the presidential hopeful. During the last hour of the last day of the convention, the presidential hopeful accepts the nomination and becomes presidential candidate.
Political conventions are intended to create an increase in candidate support because people watch and hear only the good virtues of a candidate in the context of this giant party. From conventions, people also learn about candidate stances on the main issues of the presidential race.
My conference could be considered a mini-convention for it focused on promoting women's issues such as abortion, federal minimum wage, and education as well as educating young women on the need for more women's involvement in politics.
The conference was based at Lesley University in Cambridge, a formerly all women's college known for its progressive approach to education and women's issues. When I arrived at 2:00 pm for check-in, the university was already filled with women of all types: women starting college, women graduated from college, women in the thick of their college careers, women who had interned for small grass-roots organizations in Washington, D.C., and women from California to Wisconsin to New York.
Well, not exactly there on the floor of the Fleet Center every night, but in the city of Boston participating in the Young Women's Leadership Conference that was run in conjunction with the Democratic Convention. I would spend four days attending workshops and conferences with young women from all across the country. I would hear prominent politicians speak on the political issues that affect women today. I would also be able to watch and debate the aspects of the convention with other people just as politically opinionated as I am.
Conventions are run as a way for political parties to more or less throw an expensive televised party for the country. The party includes celebrities, party delegates, and politicians. For four days, well-known speakers extol the wonders of the presidential hopeful. During the last hour of the last day of the convention, the presidential hopeful accepts the nomination and becomes presidential candidate.
Political conventions are intended to create an increase in candidate support because people watch and hear only the good virtues of a candidate in the context of this giant party. From conventions, people also learn about candidate stances on the main issues of the presidential race.
My conference could be considered a mini-convention for it focused on promoting women's issues such as abortion, federal minimum wage, and education as well as educating young women on the need for more women's involvement in politics.
The conference was based at Lesley University in Cambridge, a formerly all women's college known for its progressive approach to education and women's issues. When I arrived at 2:00 pm for check-in, the university was already filled with women of all types: women starting college, women graduated from college, women in the thick of their college careers, women who had interned for small grass-roots organizations in Washington, D.C., and women from California to Wisconsin to New York.