Ask the Candidates About Darfur:

Juliet Reid is passionate about the genocide in Darfur, and she wants to make sure Republican and Democratic presidential candidates know what they can do to aid the people of Sudan.

So the University of Iowa sophomore dons a bright orange T-shirt with the words "I caucus for Darfur" across the front, finds a seat up front at candidate forums and raises her hand high. Afterward, Reid, 20, posts pictures of the candidates and their responses to her questions on her Facebook page.

These are all techniques Reid learned two months ago in Des Moines at a training session held by the national group, Ask the Candidates About Darfur.

This campaign season, many non-partisan groups are teaching supporters, like Reid and other college students, to "bird-dog" candidates about issues like Darfur, the global AIDS epidemic and world hunger.

In other words, they're training group members how to ask pointed questions at political events with the intent of winning new policies from candidates by putting them on the spot. Supporters go armed with information, questions and tactics, such as sitting up front or near a microphone, wearing plainclothes to blend in or group T's to stick out.

"Everything we do has a purpose," said Lauren Balog, 21, the Midwest outreach coordinator for STAND, a student anti-genocide coalition. "We're not our parents' activists. We're at a point where we're not just standing outside, yelling at the Capitol. We're walking into there in our suits and handing them legislation that they're passing."

Along with rallies, letter campaigns and phone calls, bird dogging is an important tool to get messages heard by politicians, organizers said.

"During election time, that's when people have power," said Kaytee Riek, 23, a Cedar Rapids-based grass-roots organizer for Health GAP. Riek ran a bird dogging seminar Nov. 10 at a summit at Cornell College in Mount Vernon.

"Bird dogging is going through the protective bubble of Washington to the person who has the power to give us what we want and asking them for it," she said.

Supporters are taught which types of questions get the best answers, like avoiding open-ended questions and embedding answers in questions.

"Being taught how to ask a question, that really helps to build up confidence and get the answer you want," said Julia Zalenski, an 18-year-old UI sophomore who attended the Des Moines training with Reid.

Supporters also are encouraged to document the candidate's response, either by posting a videotape on YouTube.com or reporting online on the organization's Web site or Facebook group.

Getting the candidates on the record is crucial.

"The majority of these (candidates) are governors or senators or representatives. They still hold an office," said Balog, a senior at the University of Oklahoma. "We're going to make sure they know that's what you said. You still have to pass that legislation that you said you were going to pass."