Ohio Wesleyan Students Nominate Romney, Colbert for GOP Ticket
Ohio Wesleyan students nominated Mitt Romney and Stephen Colbert for the 2012 GOP ticket at the university's two-day Mock Convention on Feb. 10-11. The convention is an OWU tradition that dates back to 1884. (Photo by John Holliger)
DELAWARE, OHIO – It’s a Mitt Romney-Stephen Colbert ticket for Ohio Wesleyan University as students concluded their two-day Republican Mock Presidential Convention today.
In a roll-call vote, convention-goers cast 58 percent of their presidential votes for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who defeated Congressman Ron Paul of Texas to earn the Ohio Wesleyan convention nomination. Student-delegates praised Romney as the party’s most electable candidate, noting that he had the economic expertise to move America forward as well as the best hair.
For Romney’s running mate, Ohio Wesleyan students cast 53 percent of their votes for author and actor Stephen Colbert, who serves as host, writer, and executive producer of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central. In addition to calling Colbert “extremely handsome” and “extremely intelligent,” student-delegates also noted Colbert’s appeal to younger voters and his ability to make people “laugh a little bit.”
During the Mock Convention, Ohio Wesleyan students also debated and amended a party platform, which outlines suggested GOP positions on leading economic, domestic, and foreign policy issues of the day.
The students also heard remarks from both U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Columbus) and Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina), a 1964 Ohio Wesleyan graduate. Tiberi encouraged the students to remain engaged in the political process, especially on vital issues such as Social Security and Medicare.
“Fight for what you believe in,” Tiberi told the crowd. “That’s so important. But don’t believe something just because somebody told you. … Engage in our government. Engage in our process. … Engage – and when you do – be informed.”
Delaware County Treasurer Jon Peterson, a 1976 Ohio Wesleyan graduate, served as co-chair of the convention. Ohio Wesleyan held its first Mock Convention in 1884, and since 1920 has conducted the event during nearly every presidential election.
Because the event always features the party out of the White House, the 2012 Mock Convention focused on the Republican race. The theme of this year’s Mock Convention was “Right Party, Right Time.”
Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities, with more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Located in Delaware, Ohio, just minutes north of Ohio’s capital and largest city, Columbus, the university combines a globally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that translate classroom theory into real-world practice. OWU’s close-knit community of 1,850 students represents 47 states and 57 countries. Ohio Wesleyan was named to the 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction, is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” and is included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.