Sunday afternoon on Bruin Walk is a stark contrast to the
normally bustling environment of students rushing to class or
campus groups handing out promotional fliers.
But Garo Manjikian, a graduate of UC Riverside and current
CALPIRG campus organizer for UC Santa Barbara, was there to
approach the few people walking by.
“Hello, have you registered to vote?” Manjikian
asked a passing student.
Voter registration volunteers will be on campus today from 10
am. to 1 p.m. to give one last push to register students, as today
is the deadline to turn in registration forms to vote for the Nov.
7 elections.
Registration forms can no longer be sent to the L.A. County
Registrar’s office by mail, so volunteers will take the
registration forms they gather directly to the office to make the 5
p.m. deadline today.
Students must reregister if they want to vote from the UCLA
campus. Otherwise, if the student is already registered, he or she
would vote by absentee ballot.
Volunteers from CALPIRG said it is important for students to
register to vote so politicians will know they have to consider
their needs as students.
“If we have 5,000 students in one district, a congressman
will have to listen to us. … We are more powerful than if we were
spread out all over,” said Lauren Macheski, a director in the
Undergraduate Students Association Council’s external vice
president office.
Macheski said there are many issues in the upcoming elections
that will affect students, including fee increases, financial aid
and electing officials who can decide who is on the UC Board of
Regents.
“Who we elect in November will determine the UC Regents,
and they have the ability to enact policy affecting the diversity
of the university,” Macheski said.
Both gubernatorial front-runners have also made UC-related
issues a priority in their campaigns. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
and State Treasurer Phil Angelides have both promised to cut
college fees.
On Nov. 7, there will be polling areas for students to vote in
the De Neve, Hedrick and Rieber residential halls.
Macheski said the USAC external vice president’s office
has partnered with many on-campus student groups and the Office of
Residential Life over the past few weeks to encourage students all
over campus to register to vote.
Over the past week, volunteers from CALPIRG working with USAC
advertised on Bruin Walk, campaigned all over campus, announced
voting registration in classes and went dorm-storming (door-to-door
solicitation in the dorms).
“Our volunteers who went dorm-storming had a lot of fun
and received positive feedback from residents,” Tung
said.
As of last Thursday, the USAC office of the EVP reported that
CALPIRG registered between 300 and 400 students and the overall
voter coalition registered 1200 students.