The smell of free pizza wafted through the Jot Travis Student Union Auditorium Thursday night as groups of students and community members vied to represent the best pizza.
The University of Nevada, Reno Young Democrats hosted the “mockus” and used pizza to show students and the public how the Jan. 19 Democratic caucus will work.
“Nevada will have extraordinary power in choosing the next presidential candidate,” Jill Derby, the Nevada Democratic Party chair, said.
Derby said the vote of every single caucus participant “counts big time.”
“(The caucus) is democracy in the raw,” she said.
Carole Anderson took over the proceedings, said people can register to vote at the caucus and need to be registered Democrats to participate come Jan. 19.
Anderson explained the math behind the proceedings, helped with a head count and then asked the crowd to form into groups based on favorite pizza types. The mockus organizers used the pizza toppings to represent Democratic presidential candidates.
Jack Homeyer, one of the event organizers, said anyone can submit a “plank” for the Democratic party’s platform. The platform is a statement of beliefs and the plank comprises a part of the statements of beliefs in the platform.
After head counts of each group, those with too few members were asked to join other groups or recruit to make their group “viable.”
Each group broke into a deafening roar when someone joined them. The people in the defunct pizza groups joined the remaining groups.
Three of the four delegates from the “Pepperoni” group gave heartfelt speeches as to their lifelong allegiance to pepperoni pizza and the pizza’s dominance over all other varieties.
Mike Wiwchar, a 23-year-old pharmacology major, said he thinks the caucus is a pretty simple process and that the mockus went smoothly.
Joseph Kay, a 59-year-old political science major, said the Democrats put on a good mockus.
“I came here because I want to be a temporary chair at my precinct caucus,” Kay said. “I also wanted a T-shirt.”
Rachel Miller, the UNR Young Democrats president, said she thought the mockus had a very good turnout.
“It’s really important to educate yourself about the caucus,” Miller, 20, said.
Miller said if Nevada’s Democratic caucus does not have a good turnout the state will lose its early caucus Democratic position.
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