This is an interview with Melissa Takaaze, a volunteer for the Knowles campaign, and Brandon Maitlen, who has been volunteering for Murkowski. Both are ASUAF Senators. This has been edited for space.

 Q: How long have you been involved with campaign work?

 Maitlen: Since June, this is the first campaign I've worked on. I declared Republican in June also at the same time.

Q: How has the campaign been going so far?

Maitlen: It's a good fit for me working with Lisa Murkowski's campaign, and I just love every minute of it.

Q: How long have you considered yourself a Democrat?

Takaaze: I first got interested in Tony Knowles when I was 9-years-old when he did his first run for governor, and I came up with a little cheer song for him – which I'm not going to repeat here…

Q: Oh come on!

Takaaze: Umm… But other than that, it's just pretty much been this summer. I've always been interested in campaigns, especially the last couple years, after doing some time in D.C. I just like both aspects, even though I'm more Democratic, I'm registered as a Democrat, I like the idea of bipartisanship. Pretty much since this June, and just volunteering for Knowles and also doing phone calls for the Alaska Conservation Voters.

Q: Are there a lot of students involved on campus?

Maitlen: With the Republican Party? No. This campus is heavily Democratic, historically actually, over the last six years, 92 to 110, something average as far as Republican turnout on the precinct on campus.

Q: And how about for the Democrats?

Takaaze: I don't quite know the numbers, but as Brandon was saying, it's quite a large majority here. At the same time, a lot of them are really busy you know, because this is college, and so they either don't know what's going on exactly. Just the whole student apathy thing.

Maitlen: Yeah, a lot of people aren't voting, period.

Q: What message would you like to tell the students as far as the vote coming up?

Maitlen: No matter what, do it would be the first thing. Get out and vote, this is one of the most important elections in history, period. Think of what you want, and your values and how they line up with the candidates' and make your decision based on that, and not on what you hear on the radio or see on T.V. Make sure you do your own research is what I would tell students. You're in college, you know how to research.

Takaaze: They also need to information from more than one source. Always, always get more than one perspective. And the issues that we're voting on now just, like Brandon said, are the most important because they're really going to affect us in the future.  

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