The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Rachel Dembrun Kal Penn speaks to the CSU community Saturday about the need to register to vote as well as vote for the upcoming election on at the Lory Student Center Theatre. Students can vote early on campus starting Oct. 21.

Several hundred CSU students and community members gathered in the Lory Student Center Theatre Saturday to see Eva Longoria, star of "Desperate Housewives"; Adam Rodriguez, star of "CSI: Miami"; and Kal Penn, star of "House" and "Harold and Kumar," who spoke about voter registration and specifically emphasized Colorado's importance in the 2008 election because of its swing-state status.

"All eyes are on Colorado," Longoria said in her speech, referring to its swing state status, which many believe will decide the results of November's election.

The trio, which acted as a political surrogate for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, spoke to a filled-to-capacity crowd at the LSC Theatre, hoping to spark further voter registration before Today's deadline.

Longoria said every vote in Colorado counts, so even registering one or two people constitutes a success.

"The students who are showing up to these things are the ones who are in the know, who are already involved," Rodriguez said.

"It's about getting them excited enough to realize that, because they have that enthusiasm, they need to take that and parley that into getting other people excited."

The event focused mainly on the student votes and student involvement. According to Longoria, college students and young adults will be responsible for the future created by today's political climate.

"The only way we're going to change this nation is by empowering you and you empowering others," Longoria said.

Penn also encouraged students to reach out to their community to inspire voters to take action.

"We're really inspired by all these kids that we're meeting," Penn said. "The work that they're doing and the fact that they're registering their friends and reaching out to the community is really what's going to make a difference in the election."

Longoria, Penn and Rodriguez also spent time Saturday on the Auraria Campus in Denver and the University of Northern Colorado campus in Greeley before addressing CSU later in the afternoon.

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