FNCU Blog

Rock the Vote visited Penn State University’s campus September 19 in its drive to register more students for this year’s upcoming election.

Anna Langsdale, a recent graduate who registered to vote during the event, says it’s important not only to register, but to also speak up.

“This is a really important time for people to be able to find their voice and really pay attention to what’s going on in politics these days because there’s a lot of changes that are directly affecting all of us,” she said.

Chrissy Faessen, vice president of communications and marketing at Rock the Vote, says they chose Penn State because of the controversial voter ID law that was expected to play a role in the elections. Penn State school IDs without expiration dates wouldn’t have counted, but the university offered expiration stickers to be placed on the IDs, making them valid had the law been passed.

“We chose universities all up and down the East Coast where there were large populations of young people (for our tour). And so we came to Penn State because there’s also voter ID laws where students need to know the type of identification that they need to head to the polls,” said Faessen. “So we’re excited to be here to make sure that every student is registered and then has the information they need to turn out (at the polls).”

Rock the Vote’s tour bus showed up at the university’s campus, offering students the chance to register to vote. Later that night, the non-partisan organization offered a free concert featuring Jack Johnson, G.Love, and ALO.  

The young voting population is a key factor for both Republicans and Democrats this election. As for issues, students like sophomore Greg Becker are more worried about the healthcare policy, while students like Josh Turner are more concerned about the economy.

“It needs to get better, especially when we’re all going out for jobs later,” said Turner. “We need to have a good job market to leave school with so we’re not paying off debts with no income.”

Freshman Dan Brady said he will be voting in this year’s election because of the current healthcare debate. “It’s the whole do you trust Obamacare or do you want something new? So I mean I haven’t made up my mind yet, but that’s the issue for me that makes me want to vote.”

Rock the Vote aims to register 1.5 million voters for this year’s election and was able to register over 250 people at Penn State. To register to vote, check out Rock the Vote’s website.