Nader urges Aggies to be more politically involved

By: Sonia Moghe

Posted: 8/30/04

Ralph Nader accepted his nomination as the presidential candidate for the Reform Party at the Reform Party National Convention this weekend, along with the party's vice presidential nominee Peter Camejo and urged Texas A&M students to make their own voting decisions.

"No one's ever going to agree with everybody," Nader said. "You don't always agree on politics with your own family."

Nader, who is not on the ballot for the 2004 presidential election in Texas, accepted the endorsement Saturday in a speech at the convention, which was held at a hotel in Irving, Texas, attended by about 75 members.

Nader is currently challenging the state of Texas' ballot-access laws in court to be able to earn a spot on the ballot for the November election.

Camejo urges A&M students not to vote based on how their families vote, but to make the choice for themselves.

"(Students) shouldn't be afraid to vote for peace and against the Patriot Act," Camejo said. "A vote for Bush is a vote for war. Only a vote for Nader is a vote for peace."

Mark McCaig, a senior marketing major who was visiting as a person interested in the political process, said he was surprised at the small size of the convention.

"I'm surprised that what was such a major force several years ago is now so small," McCaig said. "This is the party that with (Ross) Perot in the early 1990s earned 18 million votes."

Nader urges Aggies to become more politically involved and to understand the relationship between corporations and the general public.

"Corporations should be the public's servants, not masters," Nader said.