“Personal freedoms.” “Access to education.” “Affordable healthcare.”
Three Harvard students voiced reasons for supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming 2024 presidential election in a reel on the Harvard Students for Harris Instagram. Originally known as Harvard for Biden in 2020 and again in 2024, Harvard Students for Harris was officially rebranded by co-presidents Ethan C. Kelly ’25 and Will M. Smialek ’27 in July with two primary missions: to increase voter participation and to instill widespread support for the Harris-Walz ticket in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Origins
Harvard Students for Harris has been instrumental in amplifying student voices on campus. Leading the organization, Smialek and Kelly are channeling their interest in politics and passion for the Harris-Walz ticket in particular to create avenues for other students to participate in advancing this year’s Democratic campaign.
“I feel this genuine, burning passion for Democratic politics,” expressed Kelly in an interview with the Independent when asked about his involvement in the organization.
“A lot of it is understanding the power that you can have, even when you’re in a small blue bubble. So many kids who are in the Cambridge area just naturally assume that they don’t have a stake in the game,” Smialek added. “That misconception and that notion is just completely false.”
Joining Kelly and Smialek, Vice President of Harvard Students for Harris Liz Benecchi ’25 spoke on her regional background and politically active desires to mobilize the on-campus energy into productive work for Harris’ campaign.
“Coming from Georgia, I know personally what it’s like to have your rights taken away, to have your reproductive rights taken away, to have your voting rights restricted. And it makes me really angry, and it makes me want to do something about it,” Benecchi remarked.
Initially, Benecchi joined Harvard Students for Harris as the Swing State Director. However, Benecchi was promoted to Vice President after exhibiting her fierce commitment to guiding the American public toward the Harris-Walz ticket.
“Your vote is your voice,” Benecchi affirmed, asserting her desire to promote ubiquitous participation this Nov. 5.
Looking to maximize resources and outreach success, Harvard Students for Harris has centered their efforts around the seven swing states: Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, and Nevada. Through out-of-state political canvassing, where the organization collaborates with partners in the region as well as phone banks, the group has made tremendous progress in advocating for the top of the Democratic ticket.
In addition to these conventional methods of political advocacy, Kelly also expressed the recent focus on online campaigning in comparison to prior elections. The Harvard Students for Harris Instagram has been active in creating a universal brand for Harris’ campaign.
Going beyond Cambridge, Harvard Students for Harris has made it their mission to not only mobilize Harvard students but also to ensure that these opportunities are extended to undergraduates and other affiliates across the Boston community. From Northeastern and Boston University to Tufts and Suffolk, their efforts have united politically-motivated Democratic students across the area.
“We are getting after it, in every sense of the term,” Smialek proudly stated when reflecting on the in-depth efforts of Harvard Students for Harris.
This Year, It’s Different
Though every presidential election is important, Smialek, Kelly, and Benecchi asserted the uniqueness of the 2024 Democratic ticket.
When asked about what attributes of Harris stood out the most, identity was an obvious, yet nonetheless key, factor for Benecchi. In her perspective, the fact that the United States may elect a woman of color in the 2024 election would be “revolutionary.”
Harris’ selfless career is also incredibly attractive to the organization’s vice president.
“She’s always been someone for the people,” Benecchi stated. While other candidates have certainly served others, Benecchi made it clear how unique it is to have someone whose entire livelihood has been geared towards bettering the lives of American citizens, especially those who are most vulnerable.
Kelly compounded this sentiment, explaining how Harris’ middle-class background and roles as a prosecutor, senator, district attorney, law student, and more have shaped a candidate who has the life experiences the American public wants to see in their president.
“People are really inspired by Vice President Harris,” Kelly stated. Prior to Harris’ nomination, there was a large public push to “stop Donald Trump.” Although this was definitely a call to action, Kelly explained how Harris shifted the tone of this election from something of an obligation to hope for a new page in American democracy.
This echoed support for the Harris-Walz ticket has extended into student participation numbers. “It’s both them and the campaign who have really put a priority on student mobilization and young voter mobilization,” Smialek articulated.
Within Harvard Students for Harris specifically, membership quadrupled after Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee. “I think we have a lot more students interested now than before,” Kelly said. This increase in numbers has heavily influenced the organization’s capabilities. For instance, larger canvassing efforts and more extensive phone banks are now well within reach.
“I don’t know if it would feel quite the same if it had been someone else,” Benecchi confessed. Kelly agreed, explaining that, “Kamala Harris is this new vision.”
Campaigning Successes
The many weekend canvassing efforts of Harvard Students for Harris are a testament to the organization’s hard work and Democratic party commitment. According to Benecchi, the group has already been to New Hampshire twice and Pennsylvania once. In the coming weeks, they will be returning to New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, as well as visiting Georgia and Maine.
Harvard Students for Harris canvassing trips are centered around their work with local partners. The Harvard College Democrats officially co-sponsor all of the Harvard Students for Harris events, and the two groups together work on pubbing, training attendees, and mobilizing students for on-the-ground efforts. “We want to know what the campaign and what the resources in the field organizers on the ground need most and where they need it most because they are the experts in the matter,” Smialek articulated.
The Harvard College Democrats operate a student-run Political Action Committee, Veritas Progressives, which has been used to fundraise money from alumni and allies of the organization to ensure that all canvasses are fully funded.
During their first trip to New Hampshire on Sept. 28, Harvard Students for Harris and The Harvard College Democrats brought 30 Harvard students to encourage state residents to vote for Vice President Harris and running-mate Tim Walz. According to an internal document, the students knocked on over 1,000 doors, reaching citizens from across the political spectrum while promoting Harris’ political vision.
Their outreach didn’t stop there. Realizing how crucial New Hampshire is in this upcoming election, the groups returned to the area on Oct. 5, bringing 50 students from eight Boston-area universities. Ultimately, they were able to knock on over 1,400 doors.
A week later, they headed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with 16 Harvard students alongside students from Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, and other schools in the Northeast. The Harvard student volunteers were able to knock on 550 doors. Since Pennsylvania is a critical battleground for this upcoming election, the students devoted their efforts to adding political security to the Harris-Walz ticket.
These canvassing trips have been well-received and popular across campus. “People are coming up to me asking me about whatever upcoming canvases are happening, and I’m just excited to see the energy on campus. It feels super palpable and…it’s just invigorating. I’m super excited for election day,” Benecchi explained.
Yet considering some swing states are difficult to reach in person, Harvard Students for Harris has also organized phone banks.
Recognizing the power of mobilizing the transnational student population, Harvard Students for Harris collaborated with Duke College Democrats on Sept. 30 to call into the vital swing state of North Carolina. In less than an hour, the organizations spoke to over 1,200 voters.
The organization came together once more on Oct. 18 to hold a phone bank, enabling student volunteers to call hundreds more Philadelphia residents. On Oct. 23, they hosted another phone bank for Michigan, with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingel joining via Zoom.
However, these successes do not come without hard work and strategy.
The Process
As members of the executive board, Kelly, Smialek, and Benecchi focus on facilitating opportunities for students to have an impact in the election.
Appealing to Harvard students in particular has posed a particular challenge. “There’s so much that goes into this because we are constantly looking for how to appeal to a specific subsection of the student body,” Kelly admitted. “How do you market yourself to Harvard students so they feel…they can do things that are engaging and can actually be just generally in this position where they are having an impact on the election?”
In addition to the meticulous work of the board and its subsequent student volunteers, Harvard Students for Harris leverages their understanding of the social landscapes of the sites they visit to advance the success of their efforts.
Benecchi explained the importance of meeting voters where they are, especially when it comes to the choice of candidates and political activism.
“When I go canvassing, the first thing that I ask people is… ‘What issues matter to you?’” Benecchi commented. One of the strengths of the Democratic ticket is its ability to meet the populace on a very intimate, human level. In framing residents’ responses through policy while embedding her own experiences through her door-to-door interactions, Benecchi has observed how such individualized canvassing has resonated with potential voters.
“Policies mean the most when they’re affecting real people,” she explained. The key to swaying voters is not simply promoting Harris’ policies, but rather listening to what matters to each person and discussing how a candidate will advocate for that issue if elected.
Beyond personalizing their efforts to truly allow the Democratic ticket to resonate with the residents they speak to, the canvassing organizers of Harvard Students for Harris are also strategic on exactly where in each swing state they travel to.
For instance, the organization is planning a trip to Congressional District 2 in Maine due to its politically turbulent past. According to Benecchi, Maine’s Congressional District 2 was blue from 1992-2016, and finally flipped for the past two election years, with the majority of residents ultimately voting for Trump. Since Congressional District 2 gets its own electoral votes, the organization is hoping to reach out to residents and steer them toward the Harris-Walz ticket this upcoming election season.
Harvard Students for Harris recognizes that a wide proportion of disaffected voters particularly in the young generation are students who aren’t really paying attention to politics or feel like their voice is not represented by the current ruling party. “It’s our job and it’s our responsibility as students, as people who…are classmates with these people to convince them that this isn’t true,” explained Smialek.
Looking to the Future
Since Harvard Students for Harris is not an officially recognized student organization, it is only here until November 5th. Nonetheless, in the coming weeks before election day, Harvard Students for Harris remains committed to advancing the Democratic ticket. Kelly explained that “whatever people feel like they have the time and capacity to contribute to right now, that’s absolutely what we’re looking for.”
Even as students, Smialek emphasized that “we still have the power to contribute to this election, to ensure that democracy prevails and the right candidate wins.”
“This is for my future. This is for democracy,” Benecchi asserted.
Sara Kumar ’27 (sjkumar@college.harvard.edu) is looking forward to voting in her first presidential election this November.