If students have anything they wish to say to potential presidential candidates, they'll have their chance to put their questions and concerns into writing when political artist, Sheryl Oring visits Monday, April 7.

Oring's visit is part of the College Democrats' 2008 Progressive Week. However, instead of lecturing to a hall of students and faculty, Oring will be sitting at the hub from noon to 2 p.m. for her "I Wish to Say" project.

According to sophomore Alexandra Newman, who is in charge of the event, Oring acts as a "secretary to the people." Dressed in 1950s secretary attire for her performances, Oring sits at a desk with a typewriter while another person sits across from her and dictates a letter to the future president of the United States. One copy is sent to the White House, while the other goes into Oring's records.

"We thought she would be an interesting twist since we are a political group and what she's doing is politically based," Newman said. "We thought it would be something interesting, fun and interactive for the students."

All letters will be sent to the next U.S. president that will be elected in November.

Newman first heard of Oring in February at the College Art Association Conference. After hearing her speak, Newman decided to invite Oring to the 2008 Progressive Week in place of a conventional speaker.

"Typically the speaker is something you could hear in a political science class or from watching 15 minutes of CNN," said junior Aaron Turner, president of College Democrats. "We thought we would take some money this year and do something out of the norm to interact with students on campus."

According to Newman, students, faculty, and members of the Oxford community will be able to walk up to Oring and dictate a letter. Oring's Web site, Iwishtosay.org, explains that during these one-on-one sessions she poses questions dealing with the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment-speech, press, religion, petition, and assembly. Oring also asks questions ranging from "What is the proper relationship between religion and government?" to "What does freedom mean to you?" She then sends the letter-exactly as it was dictated and free of censorship-to the White House.

Newman said that College Democrats are expecting a lot of students to participate in the project, with the hope that Oring's innovative technique will create more interest in politics on Miami's campus.

Progressive Week, which takes place every year during spring semester, is held to raise awareness for democratic issues, Turner said.

"The point of Oring's day is to get people to think about their political views or political leanings," Newman said.

However, not all students seem interested in what the event has to offer.

Sophomore Ken Valuska said that the event doesn't quite pique his interest.

"It doesn't sound like something I'd be interested in," Valuska said. "I'd get a better experience from a speaker than I would from someone writing my ideas down in a letter the president will probably never read."

Oring developed the project in 2004 out of concern that not enough voices were being heard about the state of affairs in the United States. That same year she was voted ABC's Person of the Week after she sat outside the 2004 Republican National Convention and took notes on what people wanted to write for President Bush's birthday.

Oring has taken "I Wish to Say" across the country, Newman said, from flea markets to New York City's Times Square. According to Oring's Web site, more than 1,200 postcards have been sent to the White House to date.