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Hip to Vote: Students work to rally their peers to the polls this fall
As the presidential election approaches, political experts say Louisiana could become a swing state in the Fall 2004 election. While President George W. Bush won Louisiana by a comfortable margin in 2000, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry has visited the state several times and continues to aggressively campaign in Louisiana. Wayne Parent, associate professor of political science, and interim associate dean of LSU's College of Arts & Sciences, said if Sen. Kerry is successful in harnessing the support of voters in this predominately Democratic state, Louisiana has the potential to become a campaign battleground. "In this case, young voters could very well determine the outcome." Parent said. And young people are very much aware of that possibility. Several students and student organizations on campus are already diligently working to energize other young people to vote. Their efforts range from harnessing the power of the media, to using music to rally their peers to the polls. MTV/Cox Communications "Choose or Lose" Political News Correspondent Kristy  During spring break 20-year-old Kristy, an LSU sophomore majoring in mass communication, learned she had been selected to be the Baton Rouge "Choose or Lose/ 20 Million Loud" political news correspondent for Cox Communications of Baton Rouge and the MTV network during the 2004 presidential election season.
This petite five-foot-tall Dallas, Texas, native with a big personality beat out 53 other applicants between the ages of 15 and 25 during a local spring competition sponsored by Cox. Kristy is one of 15 correspondents from across the nation charged with generating stories for Cox and MTV's "Choose or Lose" political awareness campaign about the importance of voting in the upcoming presidential election. "Choose or Lose" is MTV's comprehensive campaign to inform young adults about the political process, voice their most urgent political concerns, compel leading presidential candidates to address those concerns, and mobilize massive numbers of young adults ages 18 to 30 to register to vote. In April, Kristy flew to MTV's New York office for two days of awareness training where she and the other correspondents received guidance and story ideas from the MTV news department and current MTV news hosts, such as Gideon Yago and Suchin Pak. With production assistance from Cox Communications, Kristy is expected to submit locally focused written and broadcast stories to MTV and Cox for review. "To me everyone should participate in the political process. Everybody should show his or her pride in our country," Kristy said. "Too many people have gone through too much for everyone not to vote." Kristy said she is looking forward to the months leading up to November and she is excited about the opportunity to tell the rest of the nation about issues important to Baton Rouge's youth. "I hope to be the voice of Baton Rouge," Kristy said, "I think a lot that goes on in this city and in the surrounding parishes, is ignored by that the rest of this country." Civic-minded group partners with LSU organizations to increase public awareness on campus One of the most comprehensive efforts to engage LSU students in the political process is being spurred on by a group of students who call themselves the "Civic Discussion Group." This group, made up of about 10 students who are mass communication majors interested in the theories of civic journalism, is partnering with several campus organizations to encourage public engagement in daily issues including voting, voter registration, and creating a public forum on campus for debate. 
In the spring, the Civic Discussion Group, which is part of a larger umbrella group from Harvard University called the National Campaign for Political and Civic Engagement, teamed up with LSU's Student Government and Office of Student Media to mobilize one of the largest campus voter registration and re-registration drives ever organized at LSU, said Michelle, SG legislative affairs coordinator and a member of the Civic Discussion Group. More than 12,000 voter registration cards were inserted in the March 26 issue of the The Reveille and another 10,000 were distributed at this past Spring's Groovin' on the Grounds. "What student government and the Civic Discussion Group are trying to do is to make students aware of the political power they could have if they become involved in voting," Michelle said. This fall, the group plans to boost campus voter registration drive efforts by reaching out to other campus organizations such as Residential Life, the Union Programming Council, the Office of Greek Affairs, the Black Student Union, and others. "By targeting student involvement on campus, we hope that campus involvement will spill over into the community," said Michelle. One objective of the group is to encourage students to register to vote in East Baton Rouge Parish and become engaged in local issues that have an direct effect on the more than 29,126 students who make up 13 percent of the city's population. Other plans include creating a voter registration information guide with the help of SG and developing an e-mail database for the purpose of disseminating information about local, state, and national elections to all students who register through SG. The Civic Discussion Group also plans to enlist the help of LSU student media by encouraging the organization's various media outlets—The Reveille, Tiger TV, and KLSU—to cover student-related political issues each month throughout the fall semester and also to gather information on electoral candidates and present issues that students need to be informed about. "So many students do not vote because they do not know where to vote or what they are voting on," Michelle said. "So we hope by getting students the information they need in packaged e-mail format, will helpmake some kind of impact." Hip to vote
While some students are choosing to use the power of the pen and the media to attract young people to the polls on Election Day, two LSU students have taken a unique approach to motivate their peers. By mixing the influence of hip-hop music with a little civic mindedness, John, a mass communication junior, and Landon, a marketing senior, spent several hours a week during the spring semester signing up18-to-30- year-olds to vote. Both volunteer for the nonprofit organization, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN). Established as a nonpartisan organization, HSAN includes hip-hop artists and other entertainment personalities from around the nation dedicated to using hip-hop music as a catalyst for engaging 18-to-30-year-olds in the civic process. A key component to getting more young people involved in the election process is the network's series of day-long summits that take place in cities all over the United States and feature national hip-hop stars such as Russell Simmons, Eminem, P. Diddy Combs, Damon Dash, and Jermaine Dupri. To gain admission to the concert-like event, attendees register to vote through the HSAN Web site or by completing a voter registration card provided by an HSAN volunteer. "We don't care how you vote, just get out and vote," said John. John and Landon said they plan to shift their focus from voter registration to voter awareness this fall. To draw awareness, the duo plans to host a series of events, with the possibility of bringing some entertainers to the area. Contact Michelle Spielman | LSU
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