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The Rice Thresher
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by Rachel Rustin for the Thresher Dinah Mack wants Rice students to exercise their power. She wants them to be heard by politicians. She wants them to stand up to their civic duty. She wants them to vote. So much so, in fact, that she and her fellow volunteers from the Student Association and the Young Democrats spent this past Tuesday in the lobby of the Grand Hall registering people to vote. "Our goal is to get 100 percent participation on campus, and the SA is committed to make sure that that happens," SA Internal Affairs Vice President Dinah Mack said. "We want to increase the numbers and we want to increase the numbers each year from now on." In addition to the voter registration drive, voter registration cards are available across campus for students and staff members. The SA, with the cooperation of many other student organizations and offices on campus, held the voter registration drive in order to increase participation in the upcoming presidential election. "One of the things I was hoping to change was the general lack of participation," Director of University Relations Greg Marshall (Baker '87) said. Marshall, a Baker College resident associate, said there has been a positive response and that the stack of registration forms in the library disappeared in a day. In addition to registration forms, the SA distributed a brochure entitled "Young Texas Voters." "We realize that a lot of students don't vote because they feel somewhat disillusioned about the political process and voting in general, so that's what the information in the young Texan voter's guide talks about," Mack, a Hanszen College senior, said. Mack said 145 people registered at Rice Tuesday - more than the number of people who voted in the last elections held at the Rice precinct. Mack said about 300 students stopped by to ask questions about the voting and registration process. "College students in general have really low voter turnout," Mack said. "One of the other reasons that politicians don't cater to the young is that they perceive that the young do not vote." Voter registration cards are available at locations across campus, including Fondren Library, the Student Center Information Desk, the Lovett Hall Welcome Center, the SA office and all college coordinators' offices. The cards allow students to register for the first time or to change their voter registration to the state of Texas. If students list their campus address as their residential and mailing address, they may vote on campus in the Grand Hall. If students want to register in their home states, they may download a form from a Web site (http://www.election.com or http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~opa/ur/Reg2vote.html) and mail it to their respective state office. While they may make the registration deadline, Marshall and Mack stress that students who register now may not meet the absentee deadline in their home state. "It's better to vote here than to not vote at all," Marshall said. Sid Richardson College freshman Andrea Melton tried to register to vote while renewing her driver's license when she turned 18. She never got the card in the mail, so she decided to stop by the Student Center to register. "I just think it's the duty of a good citizen and I want to be involved in the country," Melton said. "I have a sense of political efficacy." The deadline to register for the upcoming election varies by state and is Oct. 10 in Texas. Early voting at the K-Mart at Main Street and Kirby Drive begins Oct. 21. Election Day is Nov. 7.
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