Community Engagement

U.S. national party conventions are the culmination of the presidential nominating process, as well as the only opportunity for the two national parties to formally adopt a platform outlining their policy positions and proposals.  The convention also serves as a rare meeting of local, state, and national party officials and elected representatives, as well as interest groups, lobbyists, protesters and counter-protesters. New Hampshire plays a unique and important role in the nomination of the U.S. presidential candidates due to its “First in the Nation Primary”.  Building on this role, the New Hampshire Humanities Collaborative and UNH College of Liberal Arts offered an active-learning based Mock “Nominating Convention”in November 2019.  Students from several campuses came together at UNH in Durham and represented 50 state delegations (plus D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands).  In the morning session, students focused on drafting the party platform. In the afternoon, drawing on polling data and the insight of analysis, students predicted the distribution of delegates for their state to determine the presidential nominee.