BYU students ‘bubbling’ over Sodalicous and Ted Cruz

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Ari Davis
Students in support of Ted Cruz gather at Sodalicious to watch the Republican debate. (Ari Davis)

Some BYU students are defying national odds by showing their support over Ted Cruz and they’re encouraging others to do the same.

The Ted Cruz College Republicans coordinated an ‘bubbly’ event to spark conversation for the upcoming election and show support for Cruz on Saturday, Feb. 6. 

The event was held at Sodalicious at the Village at South Campus in Provo. Many students gathered together to watch the Republican Debate and enjoy refreshments. Fliers and posters were hung up to show support, and many attendees wore stickers with Ted Cruz’s name on them.

According to Pew Research the rate of voter turn out for those 30 years old or younger has been falling steadily since 2008. In 2008 the voter turn out percentage was 52 percent and by 2012 had dropped to 45 percent.

Jake Lee, Utah College Director for the Ted Cruz Campaign, organized the event and gave an introductory speech on why he supports Ted Cruz.

Ari Davis
Students gather in support of Ted Cruz and encourage students to get involved with politics while watching the Republican debate at Sodalicious on Feb. 6. (Ari Davis)

“Anything he says he will always do,” Lee said. “Ted Cruz is always somebody that is personally refrained by the Constitution of the United States. He is one of the only people that I know that has a self-moral standard to hold to the Constitution regardless of what people are gonna tell him….That’s why I would vote for him.”

The Ted Cruz College Republicans marketed the event through different social media and on campus outlets to further encourage students to attend, including their Facebook page.

Rebekka Loderup, Recruiting Chair on Students for Cruz Campaigns feels personally responsible to educate those around her, she wants everyone to know that their vote matters.

“I feel a deep sense of responsibility to make people aware and make sure everyone around us knows where our country is headed, and that they recognize that they as individuals can have an influence,” Loderup said.

Lee said that people resonate with a leader who accomplishes what they say they are going to accomplish.

“They want someone that isn’t just going to talk the talk,” Lee said. “They want people who can do something.”

Regardless of political affiliation, Jack Messer, in charge of marketing and messaging for College Students for Ted Cruz, and former Brigham Young University student advises students to learn all they can about each candidate, regardless of political  affiliation.

“I think it’s just important to become educated, to investigate candidates on both sides.  To understand, not only their values and what they are saying, but also to look at their track record,” Messer said. “Look at what they’ve actually done, their experience level, where they’ve stood on issues in the past, and then use that to make an educated vote.”  

Lee got involved in politics through an experience he had in an American Heritage class, and has since become active in the political community. Lee’s father is a State Supreme Court Justice, and his uncle, Mike Lee, is a United States senator.

“I took an American Heritage class, read the Constitution, and realized this is what I want to do,” Lee said. “I want to try to help our country get back to some of these founding principles, and so anything that I can do to help forward the cause…I just want our country to have the strong footing that it maybe used to.”

Lee, and the rest of his team, want students to get involved regardless of their political affiliation.

“Our main goal was to kind of just educated people… I do want people to take home what kind of a candidate and what kind of a person Ted Cruz is,  so  that they can make an educated decision about their vote,” Lee said. “If they do want a volunteer opportunity… we’re always trying to accept volunteers.”

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