On Sept. 26, Monmouth held the first of its three “Rock the Vote” events in front of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center on campus where students quickly and easily registered to vote in this year’s presidential election while enjoying live music from “Band Not Scared.” The event was hosted by the University’s political science club and was sponsored and received help from the Student Activities Board (SAB) and many other on campus clubs and organizations.
Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Joseph Patten said, “We are having a lot of success drawing people [to register] in between classes.”
According to Patten, the club encouraged roughly 50 students to register within just one hour.
Patten also said that this would be the first of three Rock the Vote events. He said that they will be hosting two more before the Oct. 18 voter registration deadline.
According to Patten, the events registered about 170 student voters last semester. He aspires to do even better this semester.
Students from the political science club that participated in helping with the event stressed the importance of the University assisting its students with voter registration.
Junior political science student Angela Ryan said, “I think this event is great and that we had support from many different clubs and organizations. It’s really good that we’re getting students to register to vote. It will help them to be make informed decisions when they vote in November.”
Senior political science student Danielle Frassetti said, “The ‘Rock the Vote’ event is very necessary, and our school should continue to facilitate the voting process and it is especially important for freshman students who are being introduced to political participation.” Frassetti is an active in the political science club and has volunteered at previous Rock the Vote events as well.
‘Rock the Vote’ is one of the many events that Monmouth is holding to get students involved in political activity. The political science club, which is run by Patten, hosts meetings monthly for students majoring in political science or interested in politics.
After the registration, the club also held a debate viewing party of the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Student’s at Monmouth will have many opportunities on campus this semester to participate in this highly controversial presidential election year.
IMAGE TAKEN from Monmouth University Twitter Page
