Rocking the vote all week

By Gina Belmonte

More than a dozen campus organizations will participate in a Rock the Vote week next week to educate the campus about the impending November elections.

Santa Clara's eight Chartered Student Organizations (Activities Programming Board, Associated Students, KSCU, Multicultural Center, The Redwood, SCCAP, The Santa Clara Review and The Santa Clara) will put on Rock the Vote Week from Oct. 13-17.

Events will include Mock the Vote online elections on eCampus and tabling in Benson Center to help students with registering and casting absentee ballots.

The propositions for California that students will be able to vote on include propositions four, seven, eight and ten. Students will also vote for the candidates for president.

Proposition four, if passed, would, among other things, require a minor to wait to have an abortion until 48 hours after receiving parental permission.

Proposition seven would require all utilities to use renewable energy to generate at least 20 percent of their power by 2010, 40 percent of their power by 2020 and 50 percent by 2025.

Proposition eight is about same sex marriage in California. If passed, it would change the California Constitution to prohibit marriages that are not between a man and a woman.

Proposition ten would provide $5 billion to aid in the development and purchase of renewable energy and alternative fuel vehicles.

The CSOs have invited other campus organizations such as the Green Club, the economics department, the Political Science Student Association and the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Alliance to give presentations and provide information on some of the issues surrounding the election.

The MCC -- with the help of SCCAP and AS -- will host a diversity chat at 7 p.m. on Thursday to discuss how race and color play a role in the presidential election, said Director Alicia Nguyen.

The week will conclude with a carnival on Kennedy Lawn Friday afternoon. The event will include food and activities, featuring a bounce house, an obstacle course, a red, white and blue tie-dye t-shirt stand and a game of "pin the tail on the donkey or elephant," said Nick Schwanz, vice president of APB.

Both the College Democrats and College Republicans were invited to make presentations and provide information.

It is most importantly a non-partisan event, said Schwanz.

"We're not promoting either candidate," said Umang Desai, student body vice president. "We just want students to recognize the importance of voting and to realize that their vote does count, that they do have a say."

This is the first time the eight CSOs have coordinated an event together.

"We wanted to be a united front," said Student Body President Rachel Manfre.

"Even though we all have different mission statements, we're here for all the students, and we wanted to plan an event that benefited them," she said.

"The elections are something so big taking place fall quarter, it became unanimous for the students to plan an event around this theme," said Jon Gray, director of the Center for Student Leadership.

"Many people are predicting that this election will be decided by if the youth comes out to vote," said Schwanz. "I think we have a responsibility, especially with so many people in our age group."

The goal is clear: Get students out there and voting.

"It doesn't matter whether there's a huge turnout at the carnival, and fun is an additional benefit to this event," said Desai.

He added, "I will take it to heart if I hear that students didn't vote because they didn't know how to or didn't have the means to. That's a poor excuse."

Desai said the CSOs hope to plan more events together in the future.

Contact Gina Belmonte at (408) 554-4546 or gbelmonte@scu.edu.