p. The Student Assembly has partnered with the national non-profit organization Rock the Vote as part of its effort to register more students to vote in Williamsburg.
p. The partnership allows the SA to use the Rock the Vote logo and brand name in future registration drives.
p. SA President Zach Pilchen ’09 said that the goal of the partner¬ship is to build upon the successes of the SA’s recent voter registration drive. He added that there will soon be a big push from the SA to increase the size of the student electorate.
p. “I’m hoping to get about $25,000 [from] the SA senate to get a big name band on campus for Williamsburg’s first official Rock the Vote concert,” Pilchen said in an e-mail to The Flat Hat.
p. “[The $25,000] is something we would consider,” senate Chair¬man Matt Beato ’09 said. “But it is not something that is definite by any stretch of the imagination.”
p. Sen. Brittany Fallon ’11 of the Finance and Budget Committee said that funding a concert would depend on the venue, the band, UCAB’s involvement and “the mood FinCom’s in at the time.”
Pilchen did not offer specific plans for a potential concert. He only said that it should feature prominent performers.
p. Finance and Budget Chair Walter McClean ’09 was unable to comment.
p. According to Rock the Vote’s website, the organization was established in 1990 in “response to a wave of attacks on freedom of speech and artistic expression.”
p. Since then it has focused resources on organizing registration drives geared toward young people. Rock the Vote frequently uses concerts to heighten the profile of voter registration as an issue.
p. Rock the Vote’s Director of Education Kat Barr said that the organization operates within the “intersection of celebrities, culture, politics and technology” to raise awareness of issues commonly associated with younger voters.
p. Barr was unable to cite the cost for holding a concert Rock the Vote because events and partnerships are still being made for the 2008 election season.