Voter registration posters are popping up on Queens College bullentin boards, and local campuses. Generating Interest Whether instructors are registering voters in class or outside groups are swarming all over campus, all of the area colleges seem to be teeming with do-gooders hoping to cultivate as many young voters as they can. York College students are having registration forms distributed to them in class while chapters of the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) are hitting up students at Queens College as well as Queensboro Community College in Bayside. Student organizations at St. John’s University have tried to lure potential voters to register by staging several themed drives ranging from MTV “Rock the Vote” events to student-sponsored mock-debates and casual outdoor barbeques. Their strategy appears to be working. “We try to have different themes to draw different crowds,” said Rich Massana, vice president of the St. John’s student government, which coordinates many of the campus-wide registration efforts. “The goal is always to get as many people registered as possible, so anything we can do to attract kids and get them out there, we’re going to try and do it. So far we’ve been pretty successful.” Massana said he estimates nearly 500 students had been registered on his campus since the beginning of the school year and more than 30 non-partisan groups have helped the student government organize the drives. St. John’s, he said, has tended to be “pretty apathetic” politically over the years. With this election generating more interest than any in recent memory, the St. John’s student government decided to step up their efforts this year. “We’ve really pushed it this year,” Massana said. “We’ve wanted to stress the importance of voting in all elections, not just presidential elections. But we understand [this election] is a way to really get younger or first-time voters’ attention, especially in a year where the 18- to 35-year-old bracket is expected have a turnout comparable to the Vietnam era. It seemed like a good time to try to get this across to the students here.” Making Their Vote Count While students throughout the borough scrambled to beat the voter registration deadline this week, some wondered how important their vote was in such a traditionally Democratic state. “I [registered to vote] but it doesn’t much matter in New York, though because everyone votes Democrat here,” said a St. John’s University junior, and registered Democrat, who identified himself only as Mark. “I’m going to vote because it’s important to know you’re part of the political process. But you do wonder how much weight it carries.” “Our forefathers fought very hard to get the right to vote,” said Guillaume of York’s Fraternity of Distinguished Gentleman. Not voting, he said, is “like having our right to vote imprisoned all over again.” Some students, though, have the option of casting their vote in more competitive states, despite living the majority of the year in New York. Most states—New York included—allow college students to vote in their hometown or their college town. When such a situation presents itself, Massana said he is quick to point it out. “It’s their decision, ultimately,” he said. “If they want to vote in New York, they can vote in New York. But if there’s someone registering and he’s from, say, Pennsylvania, we let them know it might be smarter to register in their home state. We try to convey to them that their vote may be best utilized there.”

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