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On Monday evening, a packed crowd of over 50 students congregated in PAC 002 to hear former Connecticut Secretary of State Miles Rapoport speak on the issue of campaign finance reform. 

"I think that one of the biggest problems is our campaign finance system," Rapoport said. "It takes an incredible amount of money to run for most offices."

The talk was sponsored by Students for Campaign Finance Reform, a new Wesleyan student group established at the beginning of the semester.

"If there was a single problem [with] the campaign finance reform movement it is that it has not reached out to students enough," said Benjamin Wyatt-Greene ’02, founder of the new group.

Rapoport pointed to three major problems that the present system of campaign finance causes. First, the exorbitant amount of money needed to run for office excludes most people from running.

Second, people in office spend an incredible amount of time fundraising. Rapoport recalled one Democratic consultant who told him that politicians who spend less than 70 percent of their time fundraising will lose their next election.

Lastly, campaigns are tilted and receptive primarily to the rich, according to Rapoport.

"It [money] absolutely distorts the system...[politicians] are constantly listening to the complaints of wealthy people," Rapoport said.

Rapoport left Connecticut government in 1999 and is presently executive director of Democracy Works, an advocacy center for issues related to and including campaign finance reform. According to his lecture, any United States Senator who is running for re-election must raise $20,000 per week for the entire six-year term.

Wyatt-Greene said he hopes that Students for Campaign Finance Reform will raise Wesleyan awareness on the issue of campaign finance reform and will also act as a unifying force to coordinate other student groups. Furthermore, members will work to establish chapters at three or four other universities in Connecticut.

By the end of the semester, Wyatt-Greene said he wants students to hold rallies and press conferences and to meet face to face with state legislatures.

"Students are the most persuasive of anyone," he said.

Rebecca Solow ’04 got involved with Students for Campaign Finance Reform because she feels that most prevalent issues today are affected by campaign funding.

"Almost any other issue that Wesleyan students could care about it related to campaign finance reform," Solow said.

"They [students] have to recognize that this is something that can be accomplished through small steps...It’s something that Wesleyan students can impact," she added.

Rapoport agreed. 

"I hate to see people discouraged about the system created by the corruption of the campaign finance problem," he said. "Wesleyan students, by being vocal and active, can make a real difference on this issue."

Rapoport said he is optimistic about the future of campaign finance reform. He said that a grassroots movement involving students can bring about concrete change in the way officials are elected.

However, as a former Connecticut state legislator and a veteran of the political scene, Rapoport said he is realistic about the present state of politics in the United States.

"If you are in politics today, and you say you don’t want to be tainted by this system, you lose," he said.