The smell of pizza and the buzz of political chatter welcomed students to Houston Hall yesterday afternoon.
Over 200 students participated in a non-partisan Rock the Vote rally in the Hall of Flags.
The event, designed to give students exposure to the political issues in and surrounding Philadelphia, was headlined by Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz and Democratic Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. Blackwell represents the district that includes Penn and is running for re-election this year.
"The essential part [of this event] is to get students to think about the issues," said Erin Wilson, Penn Rock the Vote chairwoman.
In addition to Katz and Blackwell, a number of speakers and performers from different campus groups, including the Penn Democrats and Republicans, the Pan-Asian Dance Troupe and the Penny Loafers were scheduled to appear throughout the day.
Current Mayor John Street was invited, but notified the group early yesterday that he would not be in attendance, said Maite Amorebieta, director of campus relations for Penn Rock the Vote.
Several campus groups were set up in the Hall of Flags and handed out information and tips on how to get involved in the community, either civically or politically.
The Penn Rock the Vote group -- which is a branch of the national Rock the Vote organization -- also had a table set up with voter registration forms to register as many students as possible to vote.
However, Amorebieta said, registering students to vote was not the main purpose of the event.
"This is a non-partisan voter education and voter awareness group," she said. "We want to register voters and teach them about the issues -- youth-oriented issues -- that affect them."
The first speaker at the event was College Republican President Dan Gomez, a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, who explained why students should vote for Katz in the upcoming mayoral election.
The College junior was immediately followed by Blackwell, who extolled the virtues of Street and explained why students should vote for him on Nov. 4.
This exchange was exactly what the Rock the Vote group was hoping to accomplish.
In addition to being enticed by the free pizza, many students said they anticipated hearing what Katz had to say.
"I'm mainly here for Katz," said College freshman Michelle Dubert, a member of the College Republicans. "I think I was hoping to spread the cause of the College Republicans."
Yesterday's rally was the second annual Rock the Vote event. Last year, it was held outside on College Green, but because of a University rule that restricts the use of a microphone and speakers outside during the school day, the location was moved inside.
"It is unfortunate that the University won't let us be outside like we were last year," Wilson said. "We have improved so much this year, and no one knows we are here.... Last year, a lot of our traffic was people walking by on Locust Walk."
However, yesterday's event did take a bit of a twist when Katz arrived, as he ushered the group in the Hall of Flags onto Wynn Commons, where he briefly addressed the lunchtime crowd and shook hands with many students and faculty.
