Brandeis hosted the first ever Campus Camp Wellstone social activism training seminar for New England area students this weekend. "A lot of people on campus who aren't involved in student activism got to learn about student activism," said training coordinator Daniel Castleman '06, discussing the training by the non-profit, progressive organization WellstoneAction!, which provides political development and leadership training in the U.S.

The 50 undergraduate participants came primarily from Brandeis, but also from Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Wellesley College, Boston College, Boston University and Northeastern University, according to training coordinator Sam Petsonk '06, who raised approximately $4,000 to bring the trainers to campus and pay for meals. Students were charged $15 for the weekend, which included costs for training, meals and a copy of Politics the Wellstone Way.

He said the Student Union Finance Board, the sociology and environmental studies departments, individual faculty members and Student Events all contributed money. "We got most of our money in early [Finance Board] marathon in May," Petsonk said.

WellstoneAction! was founded by the sons of the late Senator Paul Wellstone (D- Minn) who was killed in a plane crash in 2002, in order to continue his legacy of social progressivism.

In the training, "We communicated the basic skills that you need to put together a successful campaign ... and make democracy more responsive," he said.

Petsonk expressed disappointment that a more politically diverse group of students had not registered. He had hoped to deliver a "post-partisan message" to students.

Trainers also tended to present issues with a bias, he said. "Partisanship was creeping into it too often," Petsonk said.

For trainee Hannah Ramer '08, "it felt very leftist. There was some concern expressed about that."

Ramer, a member of Students for Environmental Action, had never participated in a formal training on civic activism, but said that despite the leftist leanings, the weekend was extremely successful.

Trainers covered everything from "message crafting to effective ways of getting your message out and campaigning" in campus politics, she said. Sessions also covered creative strategizing and coalition building.

"It definitely felt like we developed a network of people who felt passionately about certain issues," said Ramer, on meeting fellow students from progressive campus groups. "There was talk about building a progressive coalition," she said.

"This is about building a community that has common values ... and taking some of the cynicism out of the political process, " Petsonk said. "People are just disinterested or removed from politics. This was a meeting place for those people to voice their concerns."

Petsonk decided to bring Wellstone to Brandeis after attending one of their campus trainings last spring.

"This was their first presentation," Petsonk said of trainers Mattie Weiss, Meighan Davis, Ben Goldfarb and Maanov Thakore.

The trainers are political and community organizers who work to implement a progressive agenda worldwide. Petsonk said he plans to stay in touch with the trainers to help them improve on their presentation for future trainings. "They struggled with trying to make a coherent Wellstone message," he said.

Editor's note: Daniel Castleman '06 is a staff writer for the Justice.