By Matthew Hewitt, Stuff Writer
For over twenty years, Rock the Vote, a non-partisan voter registration organization, has made its mission to get more young people involved in the political process. Since 2000, Rock the Vote has been using a bus tour equipped with the latest technology and high profile musical acts to do just that. On Tuesday, August 28th, the 2012 Rock the Vote bus tour began at Saint Leo University.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tents filled with giveaways and plenty of information about how to get involved lined the outside of the Student Community Center. The Rock the Vote tour bus parked outside the cafeteria on the lakeside plaza, giving students the opportunity to climb on board and register to vote. One student that registered to vote on Tuesday, Junior Michael Callahan, spoke on the importance of young people getting involved and registering by saying, “The political process affects our generation more and more every year, and the best way to have our voices heard is to get involved.”
A big reason students come out to Rock the Vote events is to see the musical acts that they bring. Originally planned to play outside, the two musical groups were forced inside the Student Community Center boardrooms because of on and off rain. The inclement weather, however, could not dampen the energy that filled the boardrooms. At 1:45 p.m. the first group came on stage, a musical duo by the name of Capital Cities, supported by a DJ from the local radio station, 93.3 FLZ. Immediately following the DJ came the world famous musical performance of the Far East Movement. They played a set of around eight songs, including their hit singles “Fly like a G6” and “Rocketeer”. Both groups commented on the great energy the Saint Leo students brought, and stressed the importance of voting intermittently between songs.
For more information on Rock the Vote, and registering for the upcoming presidential election, visit www.rockthevote.com.
