Student starts 'Rock the Vote' chapter

Rock the Vote, an MTV campaign to get young people involved in the political process, now has its own chapter at IU.\nThe chapter, created by senior Shaunica Pridgen, held its first meeting Tuesday evening. \nPridgen organized the chapter and the meeting, which included a special viewing of the America Rocks the Vote Democratic Presidential Candidates' Forum, hosted by Rock the Vote and CNN Tuesday evening. \nPridgen, a vocal performance major, said her vision for Rock the Vote includes three parts: registration, education and participation.\nIU's chapter of Rock the Vote is not yet an official student organization and it is currently under the Indianapolis team's umbrella. Pridgen said she will be satisfied even if Bloomington remains a satellite from Indianapolis's team.\n"Bloomington is a politically minded town with many diverse views," Pridgen said. "We need to get these people to vote."\nPridgen feels that many students at IU disconnect themselves from the politics in Bloomington.\n"IU is not just IU, and Bloomington is not just Bloomington, but they are intertwined," Pridgen said.\nIU College Republicans and IU College Democrats are both supportive of the new Rock the Vote chapter.\n"We exist as a vehicle to get students involved in the political process," said Laura Walda, the administrative vice president of the IUCDs. "IU College Democrats exist solely because we want people our age to get involved in the process, and education is the biggest issue we work on."\nAngel Rivera, president of College Republicans said he supports educating students and pushing them to get involved in the political process.\n"IU has such an amazing mixture of people from all over the country and all over the world," Rivera said, "And nobody gets to the polls."\nWalda said students focus on college life and tend to put aside getting involved in the political process. \n"Even though it doesn't feel like it now, everything that we vote on will touch us in some way," Walda said. "We want students to understand that politics make a difference in our lives, not just the lives of older citizens."\nOnly 32.3 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds eligible to vote actually voted in 2002, according to Rock the Vote's Web site. The organization's chapters across the country are working to increase this statistic. \nRock the Vote, created by MTV in 1990, uses comedians, musicians, actors and athletes to help incorporate youth in the political process in order to work on issues like free expression, environment, education, the economy and debt.\nTo find more information about IU's new chapter of Rock the vote, contact Pridgen at rtvshaunica@hotmail.com or go to Rock the Vote's Web site at www.rockthevote.com.\n-- Contact staff writer Stacy Ellis at staellis@indiana.edu.