Coalition rallies young vote
By Rotem Ben-Shachar
Sept. 25, 2008 10:51 p.m.
The undergraduate student government teamed up with the Office of Residential Life to encourage students on the Hill to register to vote before the upcoming 2008 presidential election.
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings in several dorms, resident advisers, student leaders and other student volunteers from dozens of student organizations went door-to-door handing out voter registration forms.
Some students who had already registered left stickers on their doors, so the volunteers did not knock.
The voter registration program is run by the student-initiated StudentsVOTE! Coalition at UCLA, which includes both undergraduate and graduate students.
“The majority of unregistered students live on the Hill. By voting, we can increase student power and make a difference in this election,” said Susan Li, voter registration coordinator of the StudentsVOTE! Coalition.
Jesse Melgar, the Undergraduate Students Association Council external vice president, hopes that by engaging in the political process, students can feel empowered.
“Students can change so many issues through voting, especially higher education issues such as financial aid,” Melgar said.
The coalition began its registration efforts at freshmen orientation this past summer.
In a similar registration effort last year, USAC registered 1,525 students, according to Melgar.
This year, the coalition’s goal is to register 8,000 students by the voter registration deadline of October 20.
Since 10,000 students live on the hill, the coalition hoped to register the majority of students on the Hill.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, approximately 700 registration forms were collected, according to press time. Melgar said an approximate total of 2,100 completed registration cards were collected since they started their efforts during summer orientation.
“Many people don’t realize every time they move, they have to register. That means that people living on the Hill need to reregister each year,” Melgar said.
The coalition has been working with larger groups, including the UC Student Association, a network of UC student governments and the United States Student Association.
It was through the student association that the coalition had the idea to go door-to-door on the Hill, modeled after a similar UC Santa Barbara program.
“We normally do not let people do commercial solicitation, but the university thinks that this is such an important issue that we made an exception,” said Rob Kadota, assistant director of ORL.
In the upcoming weeks, the coalition plans to visit sororities and fraternities, Westwood Village and both undergraduate and graduate apartments.
They also plan to table on campus and involve the UCLA administration and faculty to remind students to vote.
After voter registration ends in October, the StudentsVOTE! Coalition will sponsor a voter education program titled “Election Invasion,” to inform students about the candidates, major issues and propositions both on and off the Hill.
“Students are not well represented in elections, and this program is a way to facilitate the voting process and inform students,” Kadota said.
Li adds that by voting, students can form a block and issues that are important to students are addressed.
“Right now senior (citizens) and other people out of touch with what we want are deciding our future,” Li said.
“We need to have a student voting block that’s strong enough to have a significant impact on future legislation that will affect our future.”
