With political campaigns in full swing now, candidates are constantly in the public eye, pitching policies, attending forums, shaking hands and kissing babies. From the national spread to the local angle, politicians seem poised and prepared, ready to amass votes and tackle this election running full speed. But what the public doesn’t see is what goes on behind-the-scenes.

SDA students have gotten the chance to get a look as they help with the group effort in campaigns, carrying out a variety of tasks leading up to election day.

Seniors Julia De La Fuente and Matt Benowitz currently work as an interns for the campaign of Doug Applegate, a Democratic congressional candidate for California’s 49th district. Their roles as interns involve managing social media platforms such as Instagram, doing donor research,working on spreadsheets and mail, going door-to-door to give out flyers, and conducting phone banking, a political strategy to collect voter data and get out the vote.

De la Fuente agrees that people often don’t realize how much work goes into a political campaign. “I’m working with so many people- UCSD students and other high school students-and everybody is doing so much work,” she said. “This past weekend I believe we made 8000 calls to voters, between about 20 interns.”

About the campaign environment, Benowitz added, “I was pleasantly surprised by how much of a welcoming atmosphere the campaign office is. Images from media such as ‘Primary Colors’ and ‘House of Cards’ shine a dark light on politicking. In reality, every political operative I’ve worked with is a strong proponent of volunteerism.”

Though there’s much work to get done each day, campaigns are also learning environments. Through contact with other high school interns, college students, and political figures, students have a chance to discuss issues and get to know the political process. “I would say I am much more respectful of those I disagree with than when I started my internship. Before a debate begins, each party must harbor the thought that people with very different beliefs can be equally intelligent,” said Benowitz. “I’ve [also] learned some very important things about our district (CA-49)…which demographics make it up, what problems it has which can be solved at the federal level, and how certain regions tend to vote.”

De la Fuente said the most important thing she’s learned is how high the stakes are, especially for this Congressional campaign. “Issa and Applegate are just polar opposites and people are becoming threatened or scared and that’s scary for me to have to deal with.” she said. “And what surprised me about political campaigns are how much money you need, and how mean people can be. I didn’t know people could be so vicious!”

The message Benowitz and De la Fuente want to send is this: get involved, and if able, get out and vote. Benowitz said, “I am a little concerned by the disinterest many of us may have in the democratic process. Even if one is too busy to actually work on a campaign like myself, they can still immerse themselves in the political process.” De la Fuente added, “Everybody who can should vote and people should figure out what their beliefs are and who they align with. Not caring isn’t a solution. Know you have a voice.”