Students promote voting
Initiative termed Rock the Vote aims to register the University population
Emily Faber
Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: News
Excitement over the 2008 election has infected college campuses across the nation, an example of a rare epidemic that has symptoms which are positive. These symptoms can easily be seen at Trinity University. It starts with a desire to vote and, ultimately, escalates to a compulsion to ensure that others vote as well. This symptom has sparked a recent initiative, driven entirely by Trinity students, called Rock the Vote.
"This is [every student's] chance to really make a big change in our country and … to set an example that the youth aren't apathetic, and the youth care," Junior Adam Tutor said.
Rock the Vote is organized by Tutor and Juniors Chris Crawford and Holly Baird, who make up Team Vote. Two weeks ago, they erected a voter registration booth in the Coates University Center backed with a red, white and blue spray-painted wall of boxes behind them, according to Baird. The booth is staffed by members of Trinity House of Politics (THOLP), Team Vote, and three first years from the Politics and Elections hall, totaling approximately 15 students, all of whom had to make a trip beforehand to the Voter Registration office downtown in order to get deputized as voter registers.
"The oath that we had to say was really, really cool because we all had to read it off this sheet of paper and we started out just kind of monotone saying it, but then people started to get louder with it, and then louder, and then it eventually turned into this, like, glorious call to arms type of thing by the end," Crockett described, grinning. "People were like yelling and screaming, it was great. The people in the office actually told us that they hadn't really seen that kind of enthusiasm out of people taking that oath before so… we felt really cool about that."
According to Crawford, they have been running the booth twice a week every week since then, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., working to register as many Trinity students as they can to vote in Bexar County before the registration deadline on Oct. 6. Those registered to vote in other counties were directed to order the ballot offline from their respective counties, according to Baird.
"This is [every student's] chance to really make a big change in our country and … to set an example that the youth aren't apathetic, and the youth care," Junior Adam Tutor said.
Rock the Vote is organized by Tutor and Juniors Chris Crawford and Holly Baird, who make up Team Vote. Two weeks ago, they erected a voter registration booth in the Coates University Center backed with a red, white and blue spray-painted wall of boxes behind them, according to Baird. The booth is staffed by members of Trinity House of Politics (THOLP), Team Vote, and three first years from the Politics and Elections hall, totaling approximately 15 students, all of whom had to make a trip beforehand to the Voter Registration office downtown in order to get deputized as voter registers.
"The oath that we had to say was really, really cool because we all had to read it off this sheet of paper and we started out just kind of monotone saying it, but then people started to get louder with it, and then louder, and then it eventually turned into this, like, glorious call to arms type of thing by the end," Crockett described, grinning. "People were like yelling and screaming, it was great. The people in the office actually told us that they hadn't really seen that kind of enthusiasm out of people taking that oath before so… we felt really cool about that."
According to Crawford, they have been running the booth twice a week every week since then, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., working to register as many Trinity students as they can to vote in Bexar County before the registration deadline on Oct. 6. Those registered to vote in other counties were directed to order the ballot offline from their respective counties, according to Baird.
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