Rocking the students' vote

The election-geared activities sponsored by the Student Union Board of Governors (SUBOG), the Political Science Department and the President's office, concluded last night with an MTV Rock the Vote event in Jorgensen Auditorium. The hosts for the event were former "Road Rules" cast members Shane Landrum and Veronica Portillo. Landrum was a cast member on "Campus Crawl," the 11th season in the "Road Rules" series. Portillo was on the eighth season, "Semester at Sea."

Rock the Vote is a non-partisan organization affiliated with MTV that promotes and encourages youth voting. Last night's event was part of a National Day of Action sponsored by Rock the Vote regarding student voter rights.

Students listened to Landrum and Portillo discuss the importance of voting.

"This is probably one of the most important elections that we will see in the near future," Portillo said.

The event was not simply a lecture. The hosts went into the audience to talk to students about a number of different issues, including the war in Iraq, gay marriage, abortion and presidential candidate Ralph Nader.

The event was the conclusion of a two-day political series sponsored by UConn students, faculty and administrators. The Rock the Vote portion of the activities followed yesterday's panel discussions in the Dodd Center. Wednesday night's debate between Bay Buchanan and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was also part of the political series. All the events were intended to attract interest from the student body in politics as the nation prepares for the November elections.

Landrum and Portillo followed along that line in discussing the upcoming election.

"Represent our age group and yourself," Portillo said.

Tables were set up in the Jorgensen Auditorium lobby to register UConn students attending the event. The Connecticut chapter of the Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG), in association with the non-partisan New Voter's Project, compiled a table of voter registration forms and absentee ballots that was manned by student volunteers. The registration effort is part of the larger goal of sending more young voters to the polls on Election Day.

"The more 18-24 year olds that vote, the more candidates will listen to us," ConnPIRG volunteer Brittany Burke said.

ConnPIRG has set a goal of registering 3,000 UConn students before the election. That effort has been greatly aided by the election events of the past week, according to Burke.

"The events brought up a good discussion with people from both sides talking," Burke said.

Increasing political activism was the objective set forth by university President Philip Austin last spring when he called on the community to encourage student engagement in politics. A committee of students, faculty and staff organized the forums, debate and Rock the Vote event in response to that request.

The audience was asked questions in which to respond and discuss and a number of students participated in the conversations. The event ended with a conversation about the "Real World / Road Rules Challenge" show, which both hosts are cast members of. Landrum and Portillo entertained the audience with behind-the-scenes stories and information about their experiences on television.