The Political Science Club had the honor of hosting the Rock the Vote event on Mar. 23. The event was to help promote college students to register to vote for the next presidential election.
The event was hosted on the patio of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center, with food and a music performance by music group, Band Not Scared.
The Political Science Club held a smaller Rock the Vote event, on Mar. 2, to spread awareness. In total, they had 117 student register to vote, and 138 students pledge to vote.
e patio of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center, with food and a music performance by music group, Band Not Scared.
Angela Ryan, a junior political science student, and President of the club, said, “I think the biggest success was that everyone showed up to register or pledge. Most people showed up did not care for the free t-shirt or food which is amazing it shows that our students actually care.”
Stephanie Deats, senior political science student and Secretary and Social Media Chair of the club said, “The band was really good. They did a lot of covers, and I think that’s what attracted people the most. They saw we had live music and they came over. They saw free t-shirts and food, and realized that if they hadn’t registered, they had time to do it.”
Rock the Vote organization has been encouraging young adults to vote since 1990. It is the largest non-profit and non-partisan organization in the U.S. that does so. It has been driven by many celebrity advocates such as Lil Jon and Madonna. Snoop Dogg even launched their bus tour in 2004.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “Young adult voters between the ages of 18 through 24 have consistently voted at lower rates than all other age groups in every presidential election since 1962.”
Dr. Michael Phillips-Anderson, Associate Professor of Communication, said, “Young people do not vote at the same rates as older people and l drawing their attention to voting will help them to come out to the polls.”
Janaya Lewinski, a junior political science major, discusses why she believes young adults do not vote. “Because they feel like they aren’t having their voice heard, and they do not understand why it is so important to vote.”
That is one of the reasons why the Political Science club wanted to host an event such as Rock the Vote. Deats said, “We wanted to host Rock the Vote because we know how important it is to get young people to register to vote and Rock the Vote is specifically aimed at getting people in high school and college to register to vote and actually go to the polls.”
Deats explains, “I do not think people will go out and register to vote elsewhere, but if you get awareness on campus, people will see it. Its convenient for them.”
Ryan adds, “I think it is important for our age group to vote and be aware of politics because if power gets into the wrong hands, history can repeat itself and we don’t want that. We can be the generation to make change and see success but that is only if we exercise our right to vote every vote really does matter.”
However, there has been an increase interest in this year’s upcoming election with younger adults through social media. According to USA Today, Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders has been attracting young adults by addressing concerns in their interest. “Sanders has shared videos on social media that stress where he stands on certain issues, including the issue of rising tuition rates and student debt. In one video, Sanders walks through his plan to make college free by having Wall Street pay for it.”
The article continues, “Sanders, a self-identified democratic socialist, has recently seen his popularity among Millennials rival that of Democratic frontrunner Hilary Clinton.”
Deats has noticed the trend as well. “I don’t know if it has to do with the nominees or maybe just the state of the country. But our generation is definitely more involved.”
Happy about the way the event went, Ryan added, “Overall, I think the event was a major success and I’m so proud that my fellow Monmouth students came up to register and pledge and I hope everyone exercises their right to vote when the time comes.”
To hear about more events hosted by the Political Science Club and other information, follow them on Twitter: @MUPoliSci.
IMAGE TAKEN from Monmouth University Political Science Club Twitter Page
