Students had the opportunity to meet Paul Dewar Nov. 18 in one of the places some are most comfortable: a bar.
Pints with Paul, held at Mike’s Place, gave students the chance to talk one-on-one with the Ottawa Centre MP and federal NDP leadership candidate.
“People get to have a drink, be very casual and off the cuff,” said campaign volunteer Deb Duffy.
Dewar spent two hours speaking individually with students about an array of issues, including student debt and employment.
It’s an on-campus pub setting that enables students to be comfortable to ask questions, Duffy said.
“They can have some honest conversations that you might not have in a grand room full of people,” Duffy said. “So you can actually say what you think and you don’t have to sensor yourself because of what other people might be thinking . . . It’s like sitting around the table in a pub talking with your friends.”
Jenn Jefferys, a communications student and event organizer, said the pub setting also made Dewar more accessible to students.
“Mike’s Place is right here in the [Unicentre], so it’s way easier to just roll out of class and swing by here on your way home, rather than bussing all the way off campus. Not a lot of students have time, especially now with exams looming,” Jefferys said.
It’s also an innovative way to get students engaged in politics, she said, adding “this demystifies the politician as an untouchable thing.”
“Before I got any interest in politics, I had a negative perspective on what it means to be a politician. They intimidated me,” she said. “Until you can really sit down and speak to a politician one-on-one, it’s hard to see it any other way.”
Dewar said reaching people on the ground level is what his leadership campaign is all about.
“Coming to a pub is like you’re going to someone’s home,” Dewar told attendees. “They’re already here, they’re already hanging out.”
“I think it’s the kind of thing that people are thirsting for, frankly. We don’t often get to sit down and talk about issues, and often people feel like their questions are not welcomed,” he said.
But Innah Gaspar, a third-year public affairs student and NDP supporter, said although the pub event was a great way to appeal to students, a lot of questions could have been answered with a straight question and answer period.
“It was sort of chaotic . . . he's a popular guy and everyone wanted to talk to him at the same time so it became a sort of waiting game. It was awkward because obviously everyone was at this event to see this one person,” she said.
Although he spent most of his time circulating the room, at one point Dewar briefly addressed the entire bar, and gained cheers when he said the crowded pub was proof that students truly care about politics.
“Thank you very much for coming out tonight, although some of you might have been coming out anyhow,” he joked.