Swing State Break Weathers the Season
College Students Trek the US to Toss Bush Out of Office
By Dan Costa

Some people are so hell-bent o­n kicking Bush out of office, they don’t care whether the next Democratic candidate is John Kerry or Captain Crunch. A new president is so important to Sharif Corinaldi, in fact, that he is shelling out his own, hard-earned cash to send college students to key “swing” states throughout the U.S. to make sure 2004 is a year of change.

Corinaldi’s non-profit program, Swing State Spring Break, picks up the transportation tab for these students and strategically positions them in states such as Florida, Ohio, and Colorado, which held a small margin between candidates in the 2000 election. Non-students can help out by hosting travelers. The idea is modeled after the Freedom Rides in the 1950s and 1960s, which paid African-Americans to ride through the Deep South during the civil rights movement.

Other “alternative” spring breaks exist - in which students build low-income housing or clean the environment - but Corinaldi’s direct political agenda is unique. Corinaldi is a student himself, working toward his second undergrad degree. He cares less about who Bush’s replacement is than whether Bush gets replaced. Swing State Spring Break clearly states that they have no affiliation with any o­ne candidate.

“He hasn’t done stuff that I know about that has directly affected me, like slashing a program which I use or something, or punishment for something I do, but it’s more about his policies,” Corinaldi said. Bush’s War o­n Iraq did hit close to home for a number of friends and family, though. For instance, Corinaldi’s cousin was in Iraq when his daughter was born, a birth needlessly missed.

“It’s also about tax policies and environmental policies that affect us all. He passed an energy bill that was essentially a hand out to lobbyists. It pollutes my country, our country,” he continued. Bush’s overtime rollback policies and blanket tax giveaways for the rich (special deductions for those earning $200,000 plus a year) hurt millions everyday, he added.

Corinaldi plans to continue the program over the summer since, he said, it has been a great success so far. Through email lists and a website, 250 students have already joined the program, each devoting four or five days to work for a common cause. From New York to Boston to Michigan to California, volunteers spent their spring breaks advocating for voter registration. Students in the Miami area also petitioned for a referendum o­n raising the minimum wage.

Swing State Summer Break will add more full time contributors (for now Corinaldi is a o­ne-man, full time staff) and allow students longer visits wherever they go for a potentially greater impact. “The best advertising is people just having a good time and telling their friends,” Corinaldi said. A large staff coupled with conventional word of mouth has been key.

Swing State Break’s true test will come this November, but there are already signs of progress: a traditionally apathetic segment of society beginning to show promise, trading wet T-shirt contests and beer-chugging frat boys for direct action, responsibility, and something that actually matters.

Other articles by Dan Costa.

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