Roommates lobby for Arnold

When Mimi Chen '79 and Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones '80 first met as freshman-year roommates in 1975, neither could have predicted they would remain friends for life. In the past 30 years, they've bought a ranch together, served as bridesmaids in each other's weddings, and — most recently — co-founded a national movement to amend the American Constitution.

"You never know where you're going to go with your roommates," Morgenthaler-Jones said.

Calling their movement "Amend for Arnold," Morgenthaler-Jones, her husband David, and Chen — all California residents — launched a website in August to promote an amendment allowing naturalized citizens to run for president. They have centered their campaign around the Austrian-born governor of their state, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"He is the poster boy," said Morgenthaler-Jones, adding that opposition to the amendment fell from 68 percent to 58 percent in a national opinion poll once Schwarzenegger's name was mentioned. "Without his face on this, nobody would care."

"Amend for Arnold" aims to raise awareness about the issue and win ratification of the amendment by 2010. Chen described that goal as optimistic, but Morgenthaler-Jones said she considers it feasible.

"I think we're being realistic," she said. "The legislation is already in the House."

Morgenthaler-Jones said lawmakers have proposed similar amendments 35 times — on average, once every four years — since the Civil War.

"I don't expect [success] in the 109th Congress, although it's possible," Morgenthaler-Jones said.

She added that although immigration ranks high on the congressional agenda, lawmakers are more concerned with the 18 million immigrants who have not been naturalized, not the 12 million naturalized citizens whom the amendment would affect.

The old roommates argued that many Americans instinctively oppose the amendment because of their unwillingness to alter the Constitution in any way.

But "it gets messed with," Chen said. "Actually, we mess with it a lot."

Morgenthaler-Jones referred to other landmark amendments, including the Nineteenth, which allowed women to vote.

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She acknowledged, though, that this change would affect fewer people.

Given that only 43 Americans have ever served as president, all "white males of European extraction," the proposed amendment is largely symbolic, she said. "It's not that you will want to run for president, but you should damn well have the right to."

Since the website went up in August, "Amend for Arnold" has gathered nearly 1,000 volunteers in all 50 states and organized coalitions to support the movement.

"It was a big surprise to me that it caught on as fast as it did," Chen said.

Despite their cooperation in politics, the two friends belong to different parties. Morgenthaler-Jones was once a Libertarian and is now a Republican, while Chen has switched from the Democratic to the Green Party.

"I'm tired of red state, blue state," Morgenthaler-Jones said. "Most of us live in the center."

Chen said Morgenthaler-Jones encouraged her to join Schwarzenegger's 2003 gubernatorial campaign. "We actually agree quite a bit on some of the issues," she added.

Chen majored in history at Princeton and went on to the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. Morgenthaler-Jones majored in economics and later managed mutual funds, specializing in biotechnology.

As freshmen they shared a seven-person suite in 1937 Hall, in Wilson College.

"At 10 o'clock at night, [Chen] would tune her guitar and start singing," Morgenthaler-Jones said. "We'd just kind of drift in and listen."

Today, Chen works as a performer in Los Angeles and volunteers for the campaign in her spare time; Morgenthaler-Jones is a full-time political activist.

The two alums have collaborated outside the political realm as well.

From acting as godparents to each other's children to making movies and music videos together, Chen and Morgenthaler-Jones have found excuses to meet nearly every year since they graduated from Princeton.

"She's still talking to me after all that we've been through," Chen said. "I'm still amazed."