AP Photo/The Waterloo Courier, Matthew Putney

Impending final exams make the waning weeks of the semester busy enough for most students. Add to that the national political spotlight and students in Iowa face a choice between one more study session or one more campaign event.

Students in the state with the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating caucus have unique access to the election process, but the January 3 caucus date slightly diminishes their ability to organize around the event.

The Iowa caucus was originally schedule for February 6, but was moved to early January after the Florida Republican Party scheduled that state’s primary for January 31. The shuffle means the Iowa caucus will now happen in the middle of students’ winter break.

“We were really disappointed with the date change,” said Iowa State senior Ingrid Bisenius, the state secretary for the Iowa Federation of College Republicans.

That sentiment is echoed by Natalie Ginty, a University of Iowa junior and chair of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans, who said the date change impacts college students the most.

Ginty said because a caucus must be attended in person, it will be challenging for students on break to return to their campus communities to participate.

“It would be nice to show for once that there is young representation in the [Republican] party,” she said.

The College Republicans are still focused on student participation despite the setback.

Bisenius said the initiative now is to encourage students to caucus in their hometowns, but that means complications of where the students are registered and eligible to participate. She said it would have been logistically easier to have students caucus at school where there could also be more concentrated initiatives to encourage participation.

For the students working on the buildup to caucus day, Bisenius said it’s not about supporting a specific candidate, but just being involved.

“It’s our generation that will be leading the country in the future,” she said.

Students in other parts of the country don’t have the same access to the election that Iowa students do — even with the caucus date change. But Bisenius said she’s confident in Iowa students’ ability to represent typical college students.

“I think college students around the country should feel confident that we’re representing them well,” she said.

Taking on that involvement means an often tricky balance between school and politics. It’s a combination that both Ginty and Bisenius said has meant numerous interactions with the candidates and even drives through snow to attend events.

“I don’t know if some of the older people in the party know how busy we are,” Ginty said of everything the students juggle.

Of that balance, Bisenius said she wants to be as involved as possible and contribute to the process because it is a unique opportunity. But she realizes school does need to come first, even though sometimes it’s hard to give up some involvement.

“I’ve got a ton of homework to do,” she said. “But I’m going to do it later.”

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