East Carolinian

Issue date: 10/28/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Travis Bartlett

The "House M.D." and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle star Kal Penn joined representatives from Sen. Barack Obama's Campaign for Change and ECU students to rally in support for Obama and encourage students to participate in Early Voting.

At 11 a.m. on Oct. 25, Penn, along with other volunteers, canvassed dorms on campus handing out information about Early Voting and Obama's plan for presidency, and the rally that would take place on Monday, Oct. 27 featuring vice-presidential candidate, Joe Biden.

"It is really important to Barack and Joe that everyone has a chance to vote," said Penn.

When asked why he decided to support the Democratic candidate for president, he commented that he has many friends in college who are in debt and Obama proposed a $4,000 tax credit that would alleviate some of the burden placed on many college-age students.

The canvas' purpose was to gather students to walk down to the Early Voting site located at the Newman Catholic Center, next to the TKE fraternity house on Tenth Street.

Penn spoke with students before heading to the voting site about how important student volunteers and voters are to the election, especially those in North Carolina, whose votes could likely determine the outcome of the fast approaching Nov. 4 election.

Penn has been visiting college campuses all over the United States for the last year, and is a part of a 50-state strategy by the Democratic campaign to encourage students to register and vote.

The Campaign for Change has hosted many rallies featuring celebrities and events on campus throughout the last few months, enlisting the help of many volunteers and interns.

The volunteers participated in registering other students to vote, helped organize and facilitate events and made calls.

"I like that the office is in a convenient place, centered around campus," said Tony Virella, freshman finance major who started working with the campaign in high school and reconnected at ECU.

The campaign will also host an event at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28, called "Barack the Vote," a rally for Obama supporters featuring musicians, as well as other entertainment, with the goal of encouraging students to vote as well as to gain more support for the campaign.

"The presidential election is a big deal," said Ali Conerly, sophomore environmental health major.

The Early Voting site at the Newman Catholic Center will be open until Nov. 1.

The Campaign for Change encourages student to take advantage of this convenient location.



This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.

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