As many of you know, Barack Obama Visited GMU to host a rally organized by Students for Barack Obama. Building on that momentum, SFBO have appointed a State Director for Virginia and have started chapters in three school and hope to expand to 15 schools by April 15th.
It just so happens that I am the Virginia State Director for Students for Barack Obama and am very excited to have been given this opportunity to help win the Commonwealth for Senator Obama not in the early primary (Virginia will most likely be early-mid February) but also in the general election as Virginia will be a battle ground state for the first time in a generation.
Many have asked me why I am supporting Senator Obama in the primaries, it's pretty simple. It is not just because I also have a long funny sounding name, Nataniel Gustavo de la Piedra Pinto, but in fact because I believe Senator Obama has the vision and the energy to make the United States of America the country that my parents came to for the purpose of raising their children. My mother is the product of (at least) three generations of government assistance coupled with hard work in South America (Chile), with each generation increasing their socio-economic position in society. My grandfather was born poor in the countryside, through government training he was trained to be a carpenter and moved to Santiago (the capital city) to barely eek out a sustainable life (keep in mind, no minimum wage laws in Latin America 2 generations ago). My Mother through scholarships was able to put herself through post graduate degrees in health economics now being the chief economic advisor to the Pan-American Health Organization (America's division of World Health Organization).
Senator Obama brings the right message of hope coupled with progressive policy proposals to bring the American dream to a whole new generation of Americans that today live in poverty in the wealthiest country in history. Furthermore, let us not forget that Senator Obama was the only major Democratic candidate for President that opposed the Iraqi war from the beginning.
So what exactly is Students for Barack Obama? We are the collective voice of over 60,000 students who see, for the first time in our generation, a promising political and moral future for America. We stand together to help Senator Barack Obama run for President in 2008 to lead this country towards a new politics of hope in the 21st Century. SFBO is the formal (yet fully independent) wing of the Barack Obama Campaign tasked with reaching out to students and identifying, organizing and mobilizing student supporters.
So you're a student with little or no political experience (or even if you do have political experience) and you want to help elect Senator Obama as the next President, this is what you can do.
1. Swing over to the Students for Barack Obama website and sign-up to get updates.
2. If you have facebook, sign up for the following groups:
i. Students for Barack Obama
ii. Virginia Students for Barack Obama (Official State Chapter)
3. If you go to UVA, JMU or GMU get in touch with your school's chapter president (info below), or if you go to another Virginia school and want to help start up a chapter e-mail me at nate[at]studentsforbarackobama[dot]com, with a resume and statement of interest and I will help you start a chapter of Students for Barack Obama on your campus. You Do Not Need Political Experience To Start A Chapter just the dedication and desire to help elect Senator Obama as our next President.
UVA Chapter President: Jamison Scott, jms5qd[at]Virginia[dot]edu
JMU Chapter President: Yvonne Tinsley, tinsleyd[at]jmu[dot]edu
GMU Chapter Field Director: Grant Herring, gherrin1[at]gmu[dot]edu
-Nate de la Piedra
State Director of Students for Barack Obama
Nate[at]studentsforbarackobama[dot]com
PS: We are still looking for a State Deputy Director, State Field Director and State Communication Director in addition to Chapter Presidents, if interested, please e-mail me resume and statement of interest.