UNH Students Weigh in on New Hampshire Primary on ABC News
By Jody Record, Campus Journal Editor
January 16, 2008
Mark Leonard of Distance Learning watches live stream of UNH students. Perry Smith photo.
Seven UNH students got the chance to be a part of the New Hampshire primary
when they participated via Web cam in a discussion hosted by ABC News NOW.
ABC News Now is a 24-hour news network distributed nationwide via select
cable affiliates, Internet service providers and mobile devices. It reaches
approximately 34 million viewers.
Mark Leonard of Academic Technology’s Distance Learning Studios
coordinated the event for the university, setting up a camcorder in a T
Hall meeting room and linking a laptop to Sightspeed.com, a free provider
of Internet video conferencing.
The students were on individual cell phones connected by a phone bridge
to ABC News. Leonard sat in front of a laptop watching the live version
of the interviews streaming on ABC News NOW.
“We’re doing this kind of thing in the Distance Learning Studio
all the time,” Leonard said of the process. “Sending live video
and audio feeds out over the Internet is routine for us.”
Students, Democrats and Republicans, included sophomores through seniors
and one graduate student.
The ABC News commentator asked them to comment on women’s issues,
the war in Iraq and then asked them to identify the issues that were important
to them. Pat O’Keefe, a supporter of John Edwards, was asked about
Edwards third-place finish in New Hampshire.
“I still have great confidence he’s going to do well,” O’Keefe
said. “I think he has a great message.”
A John McCain supporter said, “It’s a great time to be campaigning
in New Hampshire.”
The students were asked if calling for change was enough if specific objectives
weren’t outlined. A student credited Barak Obama with using his vision
while another said McCain had the foresight to lay out his policy.
Of the students’ ease with the process, Leonard said, “They
use this kind of stuff all the time. They didn’t have any problem
with the technology.”
Watch the video.
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