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KANSAN.COM
NEWS
Student delegates raise funds for trip to upcoming DNC
KWANG HYUN
@kwanghyunny
As Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later this month, two KU students selected as delegates are collecting the funds to join them.
In April, Damien Gilbert and Justin Kim were elected as two of Kansas' 33 total democratic delegates in the state of Kansas and pledged their support to Clinton. The former Secretary of State holds 10 delegates while Sanders has the remaining 23 after defeating Clinton 68-32 during the Kansas Caucus in March.
Gilbert, an incoming senior majoring in political science, said he is still making preparations for his trip to
Philadelphia and has faced financial challenges.
"It's been difficult being a college student and trying to afford all of that," Gilbert said. "You basically have to stay at the hotel where they [the DNC] tell you to stay. That means the hotels jack up the prices whatever they want and you still have to pay them."
According to Gilbert, the hotel price is $650 per night and delegates are required to stay in Philadelphia for all four nights. Faced with having to fund the hotel expenses, plane tickets, food and transportation, Gilbert turned to the internet. He used GoFundMe, a popular crowd-sourcing website, to organize online donations from his friends and family and ease the financial burden.
Gilbert's campaign is titled 'Send Damien to the
2016 DNC!' and has raised $760 as of July 10. Gilbert set his goal at $2,158 and hopes to continue closing the gap in the next two weeks.
Justin Kim, an incoming junior and the other selected delegate for Clinton, is also using GoFundMe and has raised $1,100 out of his goal of $4,000 on his 'National Convention Travel Fund' page. Kim agrees that raising the money to attend has been one of the hardest things about making the trip as a college student.
He said the estimate of $4,000 was provided by the DNC based on hotel, travel, food and miscellaneous expenses. Kim received additional funds through scholarships awarded by the Kansas Democratic Party.
with the cost of the trip for his delegates. However, Gilbert said he hasn't received any funding from Clinton's campaign.
According to an e-mail sent by the Sanders team, the campaign is currently accepting donations to assist
"It's a pretty normal thing for the most of the campaigns," Gilbert said.
While both students have worked to raise money and stay informed about the upcoming convention, they still don't have details about what they will be doing while in Philadelphia. The DNC is still in the process of developing and finalizing the platform for the national convention, according to the party's website.
"We are actually still waiting on a more detailed schedule and plan for the convention, which is only two weeks away," Kim said. "But they e-mailed us that they will be providing the information pretty soon."
Damien Gilbert, an incoming senior from Wichita, poses with presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Contributed Photo
Contributed Photo