Perelman Quadrangle to host `Rock the Vote,' town meeting

The debates are in full swing, the airwaves teem with campaign ads and all around campus people are buzzing about who will take the oath of office come January 20. It's official: Election season is finally upon us. And as the days wind down to November 7, several groups at Penn are gearing up for one of the University's most active get-out-the-vote efforts in recent history. Starting next Monday, the University will play host to "Get Wise about the Upcoming Elections!", a week-long political information series designed to prepare the Penn community for the forthcoming elections. A "Rock the Vote" concert featuring area bands will be held on Friday. The Daily Pennsylvanian is a co-sponsor of the events. Each day, students, faculty and community members alike will be invited to participate in a variety of issue forums, discussions and special events intended to raise awareness of election issues and the candidates' views. The highlight of the week, organizers say, will be Wednesday's town hall-style forum entitled "America's Democratic Promise: A Public Seminar and Town Meeting." Sponsored by the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development -- a regional consortium of colleges and universities -- the event is designed to expose students to a multi-faceted discussion on an important social issue, according to organizer Hillary Aisenstein. "The topic of our discussion is going to be, OWhat can government and higher education do together to abolish poverty in America?'" said Aisenstein, a 1999 College graduate. "We're going to have representatives from the four major campaigns -- Bush, Gore, Nader and Buchanan -- as well as faculty, student and community respondents." For nearly two hours, the campaign representatives and other participants -- who will represent colleges and universities all over the area -- will discuss the issues surrounding poverty before an audience in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. "There's a lot of talk right now about the Oengaged campus,' and getting students to make those connections between their volunteer and community experience and what's going on in the larger political scene," Aisenstein said. "Our audience is students who do volunteer work, and we're trying to have this event to say to them OHey, you should look at these political issues, too.'" In addition to the Wednesday forum, other University and Philadelphia-area groups will be sponsoring a number of events. Throughout the week, students will be invited to attend discussions on religion and politics, Latinos and the election and issues surrounding blacks and democracy. And on October 21, Perelman Quadrangle's Wynn Commons will turn into a concert venue as "Rock the Vote" comes to campus to host a special voter-registration concert. Sponsored by the Social Planning and Events Committee, the concert will feature appearances by Philadelphia-area bands Angry Salad, Waterface, Smooth Approach and Weston, according to the "Rock the Vote" Web site.