Trinity junior Christian Grose may have lost his bid for next year's Duke Student Government presidency, but he'll still have plenty of politics on his hands.
Grose was recently elected president of the North Carolina Federation of College Democrats, a coalition composed of 15 chapters and about 900 members. He defeated two other candidates, one from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the other from Pitt County Community College by a margin of 52-25.
As NCFCD president, Grose plans to implement a five-point plan for strengthening and expanding the organization. He proposes creating a World Wide Web page for NCFCD to improve communication and raise funds by attracting popular political figures to speak around the state.
He also wants to increase NCFCD membership, by both chartering new chapters and increasing the membership in existing chapters. He plans to target historically black colleges, women's colleges and community and technical colleges.
"More than a handful of people is needed if we plan to make a difference on our campuses and in upcoming elections," Grose said.
Because Grose's interests lie in national politics, he hopes to make NCFCD an active force in upcoming North Carolina elections. Republican state politicians Rep. Fred Heineman and Rep. Walter Jones have been identified by Congressional Quarterly as incumbents at risk for the November 1996 elections. Grose plans appoint a student volunteer coordinator for each district, who will ensure that NCFCD members can attend their opponents' party fundraisers or conventions at reduced or no cost, and will help members secure positions on congressional staffs.
While Heineman's and Jones' futures are more uncertain than incumbent Sen. Jesse Helms', Grose still holds out hope for a defeat of Helms in 1996.
"A lot of people will say it is impossible, but remember that at this time in 1991, everyone was saying that it would be impossible to defeat George Bush," Grose said.
Many NCFCD members support Grose's dedication to state campaigns.
"The potential is really great," said Trinity freshman Chris Lam, a member of Duke Democrats' Executive Board. "If we can get a network going for mailings and literature drops and phone calling, there is a definite effect on spreading word and increasing name recognition." Accompanying Grose on NCFCD's Executive Board will be Trinity sophomore Raj Goyle, who will serves as treasurer. Lam said the two posts will greatly increase the visibility and integration of Duke Democrats into the NCFCD.
College Democrats both at the University and other colleges pointed to Grose's large amount of political experience as their reason for supporting him. Grose served on NCFCD's Executive Council this year and has worked on the election campaigns of Terry Sanford, Jim Hunt, Bill Clinton, David Price and Richard Moore in addition to his work in DSG and Duke College Democrats.
"He's just proven his leadership many times over," said Lam, who seconded Grose's nomination.
William Polk, a member of College Democrats at North Carolina State University, has known Grose since high school and said those at the convention believed in Grose's dependability.
"Now that the Democrats are in the minority, we need group unity, and people know that Christian will create that," Polk said.
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