The University chapter of the College Democrats held their mass meeting for new members last night in the Modern Languages Building. Speakers and candidates passed the first hour discussing the importance of this year's elections and an increase in student activism.
But most of the 200-person crowd was not there to discuss the future of the Democratic Party. They were there to see their candidate for governor, the surprise primary winner that has been traveling around the state advocating his new agenda while attacking Gov. John Engler.
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| KELLY MCKINNELL/Daily Democratic gubernatorial candidate Geoffrey Fieger speaks to a meeting of the University Chapter of College Democrats last night. |
Geoffrey Fieger, a little late and sporting a case of laryngitis, arrived to cheers of "Fieger! Fieger!" and launched into what everyone was waiting for, what they had all heard about and what they had all come to see.
"I may not be as scintillating, as spell binding, as I usually am," Fieger told the crowd in MLB Auditorium 3, but no one seemed disappointed.
In a speech that covered everything from his experiences with Jack Kevorkian to his views on the Engler administration, Fieger appealed to the students' sense of activism and change.
"The only way I will be successful is with your help," Fieger said. "When I was in school here, I was absolutely apathetic. But something changed.
"I've got to instill in you the feeling that it's time to act," he said.
Fieger's antics have drawn substantial media attention since his victory in the July primary, and he did not disappoint last night. He spoke at length about the "ingrained establishment" that he believes he is up against.
He stressed the fact that he is the first candidate in state history that was not "pre-chosen" by the party bosses, and even though the establishment may not want to hear what he is saying, Fieger said he believes the people want him to "rock the boat."
It is that establishment that Fieger mocked when he impersonated a drunken doctor to prove a point about the medical profession's clout in Lansing.
"Your interests are being sold out," Fieger said, referring to Engler's advocacy of laws prohibiting assisted suicide and reducing the maximum penalty for medical malpractice. "That S.O.B. passed a law that said you have to suffer.
"They've attempted to demonize me. But it scares them to death that I just want to make a difference," Fieger said.
Although the meeting is an annual recruitment event for the group, most students said they came just to see the gubernatorial candidate. College Democrats
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