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Show MOCK CONVENTIONS recruit 2400 delegates, hammer out platforms, nominate candidates Dedicated to the proposition that politics is not a dirty word, the Hinckley Institute of Politics encouraged students to develop political savoir faire through a number of programs. One of the more unique activities sponsored by the institute in conjunction with ASUL) was the 1968 Mock Political Conventions. Under the tireless direction of Mr. Dan Jones, and a student Board of Directors chaired by Stan Smith, the Conventions were set up to function just like national Democratic and Republican Conventions to nominate candidates for President and Vice President of the U.S. The herculean task of recruiting 2,400 student delegates, training state chairmen, preparing credentials, and arranging the programs was accomplished by activist sub-committees and their fanatically zealous chairmen. Prominent politicians, Congressman Richard Boiling (D-Mo.) and former Gov. Ralph Smylie (R-lda.) keynoted the Democratic and Republican Conventions. Student delegates hammered out party platforms, managed candidate campaigns, and rounded up votes. When the balloting was over, the Democrats nominated Robert Kennedy and Frank Church, and the Republicans endorsed the GOP candidacy of Rockefeller and Percy. 44 |