Group seeks student voters

As the November presidential election looms, Democratic and Republican officials are doing their best to capture the student vote. At IU, the Black Student Union has been doing its part to get students registered and at the polls for the upcoming election.\nThough the main focus of the BSU is to get black students to vote, Crystal Brown, senior and president of the BSU, said the organization is encouraging all students to register.\n"We are not teaching or preaching to students on which way to vote in November," Brown said. "We will be holding events with other Black organizations in October to educate students on the different views being discussed in this year's election."\nAccording to the Web site of Federal Election Commission, a governmental organization that regulates the election, only 31 percent of 18- to 20-year-old registered voters voted in the 1996 presidential election. \nProfessor Valerie Grim, interim chair of the African-American and African Diaspora Studies Department, said there are many issues that will compel black students to register to vote.\n"There are a number of issues students are aware of that will impact them," Grim said. "The availability for education, to borrow loans to pay for school, the quality of a K through 12 education in either rural or urban locations, and outsourcing jobs impact them as students and as family members."\nThe department is concerned about the turnout of black students who will vote in the 2004 election.\n"There should and will be public discourse to get students to vote," Grim said. "We are organizing a forum of various campus organizations, which will discuss the importance of students voting." \nGrim believes well-known stars in the hip-hop/urban movement will also help get black students to register.\n"Sean 'P.Diddy' Combs and Russell Simmons are making an effort to get young African Americans to vote, especially males who are involved in the hip-hop/urban industry," Grim said. "Black Entertainment Television is also making an effort to get young people to get out and vote. The message is getting out via various media, which will have an impact."\nGrim said efforts by elected black officials to connect with younger generations to get them to vote are in the works.\n"Representative John Conyers and former Congressman J.C. Watts are putting young African-American voters on a political path, which is very helpful," Grim said.\nBrown said students who feel their interests aren't being represented in Washington, D.C. or Indianapolis, should feel more compelled to register at IU.\n"If they feel that their representative is not representing their concerns, then vote to replace them," she said.\nThe BSU is using the month of September to get as many students as possible to register and will use October to educate students on the issues and different stances between candidates. The group started its efforts at CultureFest last weekend, where 75 students picked up voter registration forms. Brown said they are eager to sign up more students by the end of next month.\n"We are going to events that aren't sponsored by us or other Black organizations," Brown said. "We are hoping to sign up a few hundred students."\n-- Contact staff writer Eric Tash at etash@indiana.edu.