When Justin Backal-Balik '10 personally met Barack Obama at a rally in Boston Commons last April, he knew he had picked the right candidate to support."I was impressed with the fact that we were even allowed to meet him, because they took us to this back room that was basically only full of big time donors and then a few students like us," he said. "But then when he shook people's hands he would ask their name. And what really struck me was if he didn't hear their name because the room was loud, he would ask them again. And he didn't have to do that because if he hadn't heard, no one would have known. But he actually cared."

Backal-Balik, Philip LaCombe '10 and Ethan Palmer '10 founded the Brandeis Students for Obama organization last spring, which now has approximately 20 members who regularly attend meetings.

But not all student political activists at Brandeis need first-person encounters as inspiration to immerse themselves in the 2008 presidential campaign. Across campus, students from clubs like Brandeis for John Edwards, the College Democrats, the Brandeis Republicans or no particular organization are rallying support for their choice candidates and expressing their opinions on significant issues in the upcoming elections.

Yes, even Mike Huckabee supporters, albeit few and far between, have weighed in.

The political climax of this semester is nearing. In the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center on Feb. 5, also known as "Super Tuesday," when 24 states, including Massachusetts, will hold presidential primaries or caucuses, Brandeis will have a polling station for registered students to vote until 7 p.m.

Passionate in their support for the youngest candidate in the Democratic presidential campaign, Brandeis Students for Obama has taken students to see him speak in Boston on three separate occasions and also went to New Hampshire numerous times last semester to help mobilize voters there.

This semester, however, Backal-Balik says that the group will be concentrating specifically on getting Brandeis to vote Obama. So far, it seems to be working.

"I have people stop me all the time and ask me 'Aren't you the Obama person? How can I get involved in that?'" Backal-Balik said.

But Brandeis Students for Obama is not only interested in students voting for Obama; members just want to make sure students vote. Period. During the first few days back from winter break, in conjuction with Brandeis Democrats, the club helped bus students to Waltham Town Hall so they could register to vote. According to Backal-Balik, the organizations motivated over 150 students to register over the course of two days, including at least two Republicans.

Backal-Balik, also a member of the Brandeis branch of Democracy for America, explains why he is personally dedicated to encouraging students to take an interest in the presidential campaigns.

"I'm not a political junkie, but I see politics as a way to make a real difference and to get tangible results, because your vote does count," he says.

David Emer '09, president of College Democrats, believes that political action is an effective way to bring about social change. But Emer says that in recent years, he has become frustrated with the relative political apathy of American college students. In the 2004 elections, only 42.3 percent of 18 to 25-year-old registered voters cast a ballot, according to data from the Pew Charitable Trust.

"The fact that college students don't vote as much or as often as senior citizens hurts us in ways that are visible," Emer said. "When [President George W.] Bush tried to cut Social Security benefits, he virtually lost control of Congress, but when he cut benefits for college student loans, it didn't even make the Boston Globe."

Nevertheless, this year, voters under the age of 30 increased their attendance at the Democratic caucuses 135 percent since the 2004 presidential election, compared to the 90 percent increase in overall Democratic attendance.

Sam Fuchs '11, founder of Brandeis for Edwards, remarks on the significance of keeping up with presidential politics and becoming personally involved in the campaigns.

"Everyone always says that you should know what's happening, you know, and read the newspaper," Fuchs explains. "But I take it one step further. I also think it's important to be involved, and some people do community service, but I volunteer for politicians," he says.

Fuchs, who is from Sen. Edwards' hometown of Chapel Hill, N.C., says he supports Edwards for the presidency because he can relate to him.

"He fights for the little guy . or girl," he said.

Yet Fuchs is distressed because he believes that with Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama in the race, Edwards has been ignored.

"I don't see Hillary and Obama as the underdogs like Edwards is," he said. "He may not be a minority candidate, and he may be less original in that sense, but he worked his way through college. He always says he's a 'son of a mill worker.' Well, I met his parents, the actual mill workers, and they're very nice people."

Fuchs said that he started Brandeis for Edwards so that he could raise awareness about Edwards' plans for the presidency.

"It ain't over 'til it's over," he said. "It's important not to just go to the candidate who's really out there and well-known. It's easier to go for the rock star candidate, like Obama, but it's worth taking a look at all the candidates, even if they're not the most popular ones."

Fuchs is not alone in his support for less popular candidates on the Brandeis campus. Brandeis students who support conservative political values often encounter negative stereotypes and hostility from more liberal students.

Aharon Hacohen '09 is a registered independent who supports Mike Huckabee. Hacohen says he "get[s] looks" when people find out that he's a Huckabee supporter.

Hacohen is an Israeli and an Orthodox Jew, so in the upcoming election, candidates' positions on Israel will prove to be a key factor for him in deciding which candidate to support. Fuchs said Huckabee is not just the only candidate in the presidential race who is against creating a Palestinian state within Israel, but is also conservative on "biblical issues," such as abortion and gay marriage.

Hacohen has done some campaigning for Huckabee and says it's important that Brandeis students consider the possibility that not all Huckabee supporters are evangelical Republicans.

"Everyone hears that he's an evangelical and think that he's a crazy radical bigot," he said. "But I've seen him speak, and he's a very caring and compassionate person. He's a vertical candidate. He brings people together. I supported George Bush in some ways, but he tore the country apart, and I don't want that."

Andrew Brooks '09, the treasurer for the Brandeis Republicans, is a moderate Republican who supports John McCain for president. Brooks says he too has noticed the automatic antipathy with which Brandeis liberals view Republicans.

"Lots of people on this campus have a misconception of Republicans," he said. "They think that we're all fire-breathing evangelicals, but there's a diversity within the Republican Party."

"In class, I sometimes feel like people are debating me, like it's the entire class against me because I have conservative views," says Amanda Hecker '10, who supports Rudolph Giuliani and is the president of the Brandeis Republicans.

But Brooks says his own political ideologies defy the predetermined notions that Brandeis students have about Republicans.

"I would consider voting Democrat," he says. "If, for example, Huckabee won, I would vote for, say, Hillary. And I know plenty of Democrats who would vote for McCain."

Brooks says Brandeis students often forget the origins of the Republican Party.

"It's interesting being on a campus where people associate Republicans with George Bush," he said. "People forget that the Republican Party was founded by Abe Lincoln and that the Democratic Party was the one of the racist bigots in the 1950's."

Despite the prejudices that Hacohen has experienced as a Huckabee supporter on the Brandeis campus, he enjoys going to college on a liberal campus.

"I don't mind it," he said. "It challenges and strengthens my views."

Like many other politically active students on campus, Brooks thinks that the most important thing voters can do is get involved.

"There's a difference between reading about and watching TV about politics and actually being involved," he said. "And being active in this political battle is a Brandeis thing. It's what we're all about.