AKRON, Ohio -- The Republican Party and President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign kicked off a national voter registration effort on college campuses Monday evening at the University of Akron.

The “Make Campus Great Again” initiative begins this week in Ohio with trainings and events with College Republican chapters at UA, Ohio State University, Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati.

More than 50 students from Akron, Kent State University, Walsh University and Cleveland State University packed into a standing-room-only room at UA’s Student Center to hear about the campaign’s strategies from Mitch Freckleton, director of youth engagement for Trump Victory, and Ohio director for Trump’s re-election, Steve Buckingham.

"Not only do we have the president [up for re-election], but we have [two seats on] the state supreme court," Buckingham said of the 2020 election. "This really does highlight how much of an effect you could all have."

Freckleton encouraged students to register voters on campus by holding petition drives and focusing on issues including the economy and jobs, immigration, regulation, health-care and veterans.

"I think Trump has been great for college students, especially because of his free speech executive order," said Seth Koellner, chair of the Ohio Federation of College Republicans. "I think he's doing his best to protect students from administrations that have their own interests ahead of their students."

Alex Pavloff, a University of Akron alum and chair of the Ohio Young Republicans, said he was impressed by the turnout of Monday's event.

"As far as I can tell, this is really the first vestige of political organizing from any of the campaigns on any campus in Ohio," Pavloff said. "There might have been some I missed, but as far as I can tell, this group is getting together early and they're really fired up."

College Democrats of America President Mikaela Guido said Monday in a statement that Trump has "failed to keep his promise to ease student loans," by his support of for-profit college and his proposals to cut federal student aid programs.

Eva Holtkamp, president of College Democrats of Ohio, said, "On every issue young people care about, from climate change to gun violence, Trump and Republicans in Congress side with corporations over America's students."

“I think that really proves our point,” GOP spokeswoman Mandi Merritt said of the College Democrats’ response to the initiative. “They are trying to silence conservative speech on campus and we’re fighting back.”

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