With the 2012 political convention season well under way, we went digging into the archives and found this tidbit from the July 1964 issue of Pomona Today. During that year, students had held their own Republican confab in Big Bridges, and came up with a different presidential nominee than Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, the national party’s eventual pick. Read on:

Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton overcame an early lead by Senator Barry Goldwater and swept to a second-ballot victory after two days of furious politicking on the part of students of the Claremont Colleges, meeting in a mock GOP convention at Bridges Auditorium.

With a majority of 655 needed to carry the nomination, Senator Goldwater received a first ballot plurality of 485, followed by [Henry Cabot] Lodge with 206, [Nelson] Rockefeller and [Michigan Gov. George] Romney 80. After a good deal of maneuvering and vote shifting, Scranton’s forces rolled to a surprising second-ballot victory with 685 votes.”

MORE CONVENTION CONNECTIONS:At the Huffington Post, Jacqueline Caster ’79 recounts her unusual student experience as a Democrat attending the 1976 Republican convention in Kansas City, where Reagan supporters, she writes, asked her to do a bit of espionage. Read on:

 It soon became apparent to both the Ford and Reagan groups that this friendly 19-year-old college student was the ONLY one who was actually sitting in on both their meetings. So on Day Two, one of the Reaganites pulled me aside and after complimenting me on my very professional demeanor way beyond my years, subtly asked how the Ford sessions were going? “Fine,” was my one word response, not sure where he was going with this. “Why?” I asked. “Well,” he said, “our group would be forever grateful if you could fill us in on the details of what they discuss.” Flustered, I replied, “You mean you want me to spy for you?”