The convention will provide a chance for the party to decide on its platform for the general election on Nov. 6, Jordan Harris, chair of the Penn State College Republicans, said.
Delegates will also vote on whether former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will be on the official ticket of the GOP for the presidential race.
Speakers are also lined up for the week, such as former GOP presidential candidate and Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, as well as Romney and Ryan.
Though it’s a rare opportunity for many, students who were chosen as volunteers will be making sure events run smoothly, said Chairman of the Pennsylvania Federation of College Republicans Anthony Christina, who is a volunteer for the week.
Christina said he would have the chance to witness history first-hand throughout the week.
Christina will be representing Penn State and Pennsylvania as one of many pages during the week at the convention.
About two or three students are chosen from each state to go, Christina said, and he was informed in the middle of May that he was going.
Though most students won’t be attending the convention, it is still important for them to listen to the messages that will be talked about this week, Harris said.
Programs like Medicare and social security will be discussed, but the economy will remain the top message, he said.
“If students are entering the work force within the next one to four years, they should be paying attention to the convention,” Harris said.
The other aspect of the convention that Harris is looking forward to is Ryan, who has the chance to speak in a more formal way, and allow the party to start talking like “adults,” he said.
Centre County Republican Party Chairman Daryl Schafer said students should listen to the message of the GOP, make sure they pay attention to the issues “in depth” and think about the responses of the country thus far.
The convention will offer speakers from the complete spectrum of the Republican Party, said Schafer.
Though the convention had to be put on hold Monday after the storm, it isn’t going to change the speaker lineup too much, according to the Republican National Convention’s schedule on its website.