‘Entourage’ star to stump for Obama at 2 University locations

Today, “Entourage” star Jeremy Piven will not be \nacting.\nInstead, he’s taking the day off to stump for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.\nPiven will be campaigning today in the Frangipani Room at the Indiana Memorial Union and the Beta Theta Pifraternity house, just four days after actor Kal Penn came to IU in support of Obama.\n“Just like Kal Penn, we’re fortunate to have a lot of supporters that are celebrities,” said senior Tim Granholm, president of IU Students for Barack Obama. “I think a lot of people will turn out to see President Clinton, but our goal is to register as many people as possible and get as much attention as we can draw to Barack Obama.”\nPiven’s first stop will be at 10:30 a.m. in the IMU to answer students’ questions about why he supports Obama. At about noon, he will be speaking at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Event times could vary depending on Piven’s schedule, so students are encouraged to join the Facebook group to receive updates, Granholm said.\nIU Students for Barack Obama will be registering people to vote at both \nlocations.\n“The voter registration (deadline) is fast approaching,” Granholm said. “The whole point of this is to reach out to people we haven’t met yet. His presence here on campus will make more students think about \nthe elections, register to vote and think about the Obama campaign.”\nBoth events will be free, but the amount of space available at Beta Theta Pi is unknown, Granholm said. Students will be able to attend these events on a first come, first served basis. \nWith a variety of celebrities visiting campus in the past week, students have different opinions concerning their effectiveness.\nSophomore Brittany Douglas said she thinks having celebrities on campus helps because the candidates can’t be everywhere and can’t do all the work.\n“We’re getting into the elections now because we’re older,” she said. “The celebrities aren’t helping the way they are intending to because we are getting into it on \nour own. This election is trying to appeal to our generation more.”\nJunior Neil Black thinks students are more interested in the celebrities and not \nnecessarily what the candidates represent.\n“I feel college students are easily influenced by popular figures,” Black said. “I don’t know a lot about politics, but if they sent someone I did know, I’d be apt to go \nsee them.”