ENCOURAGING A VOICE IN ELECTION YEAR College Republicans hold Voter Registration Day for students According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, only 51 percent of Americans under 30 participated in the 2008 presidential election, a statistic College Republicans wanted to improve in the 2012 election. The organization worked with the American Studies Institute to boost student participation in voter registration by manning a sign-up booth in the student center Sept. 12-14. Members of College Republicans helped students register to vote and gave them information about the importance of their personal involvement in the election. "Our age group is notoriously uninvolved in politics across the nation, yet the government affects us so heavily," club president senior Andrew Rivenbark said. Freshman Erin O'Halloran was one of the students who participated in the voter registration day. O'Halloran said the entire process was quick and easy, taking less than 10 minutes to complete. "We are the upcoming society, and we need to be aware of what's going on," O'Halloran said. "Soon we will all be out in the real world, and we need to take ownership in the country now." The sign-up booth successfully raised interest in the 2012 election cycle, and both the College Republicans and ASI members were pleased with the turnout. "For the large part, it was hugely succcessful," ASI member junior Jonathan Crews said. "We were surprised and pleased with how many people registered. We sent off 100 applications for absentee ballots of voting registration." Sponsor and reference librarian Justin Lillard said that every year the club tried to show students how politics affected them, and this encouraged students to vote when election years came around. 'The club strives to educate the Harding community on the fundamental differences between Democratic and Republican approaches to governance, particularly with regard to economic policy and the national debt, and how those differences can be expected to impact today's students over their lifetime," Lillard said. For students who might not have had the time to be involved in College Republicans during the 2012 school year, Rivenbark said that the club was also used as a middle person between students and politics. "We want our members to find something they are passionate about and put their efforts into that," Rivenbark said. "My job as president is just to inform my members of opportunities, and they choose whether or not to help." Some of the members of College Republicans campaigned for particular Republican candidates running for regional or municipal positions. "We are also working with local Republican candidates to help them with campaigning," Rivenbark said. "A few of our members have gone door knocking, worked phone banks and have even worked booths at the White County Fair." Recognizing that college students were often more concerned with the election of their student body president than national events, College Republicans wanted to change that. The organization was dedicated to helping college students understand the power of their own voices in national, regional and local politics. Alexis Hosticka Pi Sigma Alpha Est.1964: Row 1: T. Strother, S. Falck, L. Pfalser. Row 2: W. Hicks, S. Stringfellow, L. Rowe, C. Skaggs, D. Smith, A. Rivenbark, M. Collins, K. Czerwonka, R. Brown (sponsor). Row 3: D. Horton, A. Nutt, A. Woltman, R. Eick, T. Kelton, T. Perkins, A. Hogan, M. Gallagher. Est. 1982: Row 1: E. Grant, L. Pfalser, E. Wood. Row 2: K. Bolivar, C. Meyer, B. McMahan, C. Safiey. Political Science 1 249
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