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College Students From All Over Get Front Row Seat to the N.H. Primary

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College students from around the country are in Manchester this week as part of College Convention 2020, and they're hearing pitches from several presidential candidates. The event is hosted by New England College.

Jeremiah Meadows and Rania Khaldieh are students at Virginia Commonwealth University. They’re attending the convention as a part of their Campaigns and Elections class to get a first-hand look at the New Hampshire primary.

Meadows says he, and a lot of people he knows, have found themselves thinking about war, given the recent tensions with Iran and Iraq.

Khaldieh says the threat of conflict has her thinking about her own patriotic duty.

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Charisse DelVecchio studies psychology at Springfield College in Massachusetts. She says she and her peers have also been talking about the possibility of having to serve. But that’s not their top concern.

ss_0106_CollegeConvention_Charisse.mp3

For Keene State student Maia Roderick, conflict with Iran has not been top of mind. 

“I’m not educated enough on it,” she says. “I think if I educated myself more on it, which I’m trying to do, I would be a little more concerned about it.”

She says she’s more focused on environmental issues. 

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Students at the second day of this weeklong event said climate change and tensions with Iran are just two of many issues on their minds. They also expressed concerns about immigration, education reform, LGBTQ rights, and racial inequality.

Several presidential candidates are addressing the students throughout the week.

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