The national president of the College Democrats of America announced his endorsement of Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina for the Democratic presidential nomination in a conference call with the senator and campus reporters Wednesday.
‘John Edwards represents our greatest opportunity to put America back on the road to prosperity,’ said Ashley Bell, the 22-year-old Louisana State University law student and College Democrats president.
The College Democrats has more than 475 chapters across the country, including one at Boston University. Wednesday’s announcement was a personal endorsement from Bell; the organization will not endorse any candidate before the nomination.
‘I think college students and young people are a very natural constituency for me,’ Edwards said, speaking from Philadelphia. ‘I’m proud to have the support of Ashley and thousands of students just like him.’
Edwards, the first in his family to attend college, has made his ‘College for Everyone’ plan a key part of his campaign. The plan calls for the government to pay the first year of tuition to a state or community college for students who are willing to work 10 hours per week while attending school.
Bell praised Edwards’ college plan and said the senator would create jobs for college graduates.
‘I want affordable education, and I want a job after graduation,’ Bell said, adding Edwards ‘is going to make college free for everyone who wants to go to college and work for it.’
Bell, originally from Gainesville, Ga., was the youngest black delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2000. He graduated from Valdosta State University in Georgia, where he founded the school’s chapter of the College Democrats.
Edwards has found supporters in the BU community as well. Nick Kassotis, College of Arts and Sciences senior and vice president of the BU College Democrats, said he supported Edwards and worked on his campaign in New Hampshire over the summer.
Kassotis praised Edwards’ plan to give working students free tuition for the first year.
‘It’s not something that’s going to distract you from your studies, rather, it’s going to make you appreciate things more.’
He also said he was attracted by the senator’s working-class background, pragmatic approach to health care reform and rejection of special interests.
Kassotis said the BU chapter of the Democrats is not allowed to endorse any candidates until the state Democratic Party makes its endorsement. Because the executive board and chapter members support various candidates, Kassotis said, the chapter is unlikely to endorse any single candidate before the primaries.