January 31, 2020
Purdue students attending Iowa caucuses for experiential learning trip
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Five Purdue University undergraduate students are traveling to Des Moines, Iowa, to cover the Iowa Democratic caucuses as interns for C-SPAN.
The experiential learning trip is led by Connie Doebele, managing director of the Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement, and Diana Zulli, an assistant professor for the Brian Lamb School of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts. The six-day trip began Thursday (Jan. 30) and ends Tuesday (Feb. 4).
“For all of these students, this will be the first presidential campaign that they will be seeing as adults,” Doebele said. “This is an opportunity for them to see, in person, what it’s like to be part of a television crew covering a candidate speaking to huge crowds. Their ability to see these political campaigns in action, on the ground, is a pretty amazing experience that few people get to see, much less students who are experiencing an election for the first time.”
Students will assist C-SPAN television crews both in the field and for the Washington Journal morning program as the network covers presidential campaign events and the results of the Iowa caucuses. Students will stay together in a house and will receive assignments each evening for the next day, including attending a caucus on Monday (Feb. 3).
The five students represent a variety of majors, departments and colleges, including the Brian Lamb School of Communication, the Department of Political Science, the Honors College and the College of Science. Purdue faculty and students also attended the previous Iowa caucuses in 2016 for a research trip.
Writer: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu
Source: Connie Doebele, 765-496-1706, cdoebele@purdue.edu