When Wellesley College sophomore Gabi Vesey makes her pitch about why Hillary Clinton is the candidate to support, the 20-year-old canvasser starts with a few key points: Clinton’s expansion of health insurance for children, and her famous “Women’s rights are human rights’’ speech.

She and her canvassing partner, 18-year-old Wellesley freshman Tarini Miglani, easily rattle off the facts of Clinton’s biography, and agree that her championship of equal pay for women is a major plus.

Both supported Clinton long before they arrived at Wellesley, their chosen candidate’s alma mater. But now, as students and political organizers, the connection inspires them.

“The fact that she graduated from Wellesley makes us look up to her,’’ Vesey said this weekend, as she and Miglani trekked house to house through Wellesley, ringing doorbells and leaving “Vote for Hillary’’ fliers. “She was in our shoes at one point.’’

Miglani added with a laugh: “She lived in my dorm.’’

When Clinton arrived at Wellesley in 1965, she was a Republican. She graduated a Democrat. On the campus that helped shape her politics, students are split on whether she deserves the nomination, or whether it should go to democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.

Recent polls suggest that the Wellesley campus may well be a microcosm of the state, with Clinton and Sanders locked in a close battle in Massachusetts. Both campaigns sent canvassers out across the state this weekend, and both candidates will be in Boston on Monday, one day before a dozen states hold presidential nominating contests on Super Tuesday.

“Both sides are very passionate,’’ said Ianka Bhatia, 19, a Wellesley student who said she was still undecided. “I feel like on campus, people support Bernie Sanders if they’re more interested in domestic policy or social justice issues. But I think Hillary’s experience and her foreign policy is a lot better than Bernie Sanders’.’’

Sanders supporter and Wellesley senior Brigette, 22, who asked to be identified only by her first name, said she liked Sanders’ positions on health care and free college tuition.

“Basic things that should be free in this country because we have so much money are not,’’ she said. “I think it’s ridiculous.’’

She never gets flack, she said, for her chosen candidate — and there have been plenty of Sanders events on campus.

“It’s interesting, because people love Hillary here, but in a way, they kind of feel bad because they’re not 100 percent in support of Hillary,’’ she said. “Not everyone — I think we’re evenly split.’’

While students this weekend said both sides are respectful of each other — and many said they will support whichever candidate gets the nomination — tensions between camps have run high at times.

“I went to a party the other weekend where people started arguing about it, and it was just like, ‘Guys, can we not?’?’’ said Hope Garcia, a junior who said she will support either Democrat. “One girl started going off about how Bernie Sanders just isn’t a viable candidate, and there was this really die-hard girl who was like ‘feeling the Bern,’ who was not down with that — it was a whole thing. I just stayed in the corner and sipped my wine.’’

Republicans are a muted presence on campus, students said.

“My roommate is one, which is like — What?’’ quipped one young woman. Students said most on campus are supporting a Democrat, or are undecided.

Students who support Clinton and those who don’t said their decision is based on policy, not gender or alma mater — though several pointed out that from a practical standpoint, going to the college attended by the president might have its perks.

“If she does get elected, the admissions office is going to have a field day with it,’’ said Garcia. “They’re going to go nuts with all the prospective students stuff.’’

For some, however, the questions from reporters about which candidate they favor were perplexing — like any slice of public life, they said, opinions are wide-ranging and complicated.

“We’re a normal college campus, and everyone in some sort of a way feels a connection to Hillary, but that doesn’t make it newsworthy that we have different opinions,’’ said Emy Urban, a 19-year-old sophomore who was walking with two friends.

“I don’t think anyone here thinks it’s as big of a deal as people outside,’’ added 19-year-old Ginger Simms, a sophomore, drawing laughter from the group.

Student organizers will be busy straight through Super Tuesday.

Vesey and Miglani both run phone banks one day a week in addition to canvassing some weekends. They’ve lost count of how many doors they’ve knocked on. But they’re optimistic about how Clinton will fare, and the hours fly by, they say.

“It honestly doesn’t feel like that much,’’ said Miglani.

Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen.