Courtney Ruth
Copy Editor
September 10, 2004
Sophomore Reese Cubol recently began a Republican Club at Milligan, which opened the door for her to volunteer as part of the hospitality team at the Republican National Convention last week at Madison Square Gardens in New York City. Copy editor Courtney Ruth recently talked with Cubol as she reflected on starting the club and the time she spent at the convention.
Q: How did you get to go to the convention?
A: Amanda Harrison and I are trying to start the College Republican National Committee (at Milligan). Since I told them I wanted to start a chapter, they sent me an application (for the convention). They needed 10,000 people to volunteer and about two weeks later they called me and said “Yea, you can help out. You’d be part of the hospitality group.” I was lucky to get hospitality. If I was to have said transportation, I would not have been inside at all.
Q: So the club you’re starting is part of a chapter?
A: It is part of the College Republican National Committee and it’s all called the College Republican Chapter. These chapters are nationwide and have been around for a long time.
Q: What would you say was the biggest highlight of the whole week at the convention?
A: The most passionate for me was Zell Miller’s speech. He just said it like it was and didn’t care if he was quoted in some liberal newspaper or if they bashed him. That was passion right there. Also, of course, seeing the President and hearing his speech.
Q:Did your family attend the convention with you?
A: Just my mom and my sister. They didn’t want me to be by myself. The protesters had made us a little uneasy, but security was everywhere. At first (the convention) gave us volunteer shirts and said “don’t wear it (in public),” but we started wearing it towards the end because there was police and everything was fine. However, I did get spit on.
Q: Did it inspire you to want to be involved in politics at all?
A: It inspired me a little bit to be involved somewhere, somehow. I don’t know what I am going to be doing, but it has inspired me to go into law school. It was a really great experience, even if I was at the bottom of the totem pole.