News Releases
News from Lane Community College
August 13, 2008
LANE STUDENTS TO ATTEND NATIONAL CONVENTIONS -- DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN
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Matt Keating |
Chase Connor |
Eugene, Ore. - Two Lane Community College students with a passion for politics are headed for the national presidential nominating conventions: one to Denver, the other to Minneapolis.
Matt Keating of Eugene will represent the 4th Congressional District as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from August 25-28 in Denver. Keating, 32, is a theater arts major. He organized the Lane Community College Chapter of Oregon Students for Obama.
Chase Connor of Eugene will serve as a page at the Republican National Convention from September 1-4 in Minneapolis. He co-founded the Lane County Young Republicans. Connor, 20, is a hospitality major.
Each student will report on his convention experience through Lane's blog, Life@Lane, available from the college homepage at lanecc.edu.
While they couldn't differ more in their political opinions, both students have completed internships through Lane’s Cooperative Education program and each credits Lane faculty, including political science instructor co-op coordinator Steve Candee, for inspiring them to pursue their dreams. Through the co-op program, Candee connected the students with people and opportunities that matched their interests. Each has made close friends through their internships and each has done canvassing, signed up voters, and advocated for their respective causes and candidates. Connor says working on a campaign is the only way to go. “Democracy is not a spectator sport and you can’t teach campaigning in a classroom. You have to experience it in real life.” For each student, going to the convention is an unprecedented thrill.
Candee teaches political science and coordinates internships in political and legal offices. He is well known by local and state elected officials, many of whom give guest lectures or join panel discussions in his classes. This fall, for instance, he is lining up a discussion with Eugene mayoral candidates Kitty Piercy and Jim Torrey. Candee has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Oregon and has taught at Lane for 22 years.
“I really want to get students to challenge their own beliefs and to gain more confidence in their beliefs and understand why they feel the way they do and be able to back it up,” says Candee. “It’s my job to find out what students’ interests are and help them find opportunities to grow in those interests. My goal is to act in the interests of my students. That’s my bottom line.”
Cooperative education integrates on-the-job work or volunteer experience with academic studies. Students earn credit and a grade while working full-time or part-time in positions related to their career and academic goals. About 2,000 students and 800 employers participate in the co-op program each year, making Lane's program one of the largest at any U.S. two-year college.
For more information about the political science cooperative education program at Lane, contact Steve Candee at 463-5188.
Lane is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
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Contacts:
* Joan Aschim, PIO, aschimj@lanecc.edu, 463-5591
* Steve Candee, Cooperative Education Coordinator and Political Science Instructor, candees@lanecc.edu, 463-5188, cell 514-9706
* Matt Keating, student, mkeating@studentsforbarackobama.com, cell 606-2514
* Chase Connor, student, chasekconnor@gmail.com, cell (925) 683-4768
