Club leaders encouraged students to vote by providing information about where the presidential candidates stand on issues pertaining to their club's mission during Rock the Vote, an event held on the Great Lawn last Wednesday, Sept. 23 that marked the end of the Student Union's club voter registration contest. About 50 students registered to vote at Rock the Vote, according to an e-mail to the Justice from Elise Diamond '09, assistant director for Student Events and Rock the Vote coordinator.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Student Union President Jason Gray '10 wrote, "There were 102 voter registration forms collected through the clubs for the Brandeis Votes competition. . The majority of voter registration forms were for the Massachusetts area."

He wrote, "It is fewer than we hoped for, which was disappointing, but still important that we were able to register new voters and bring more people into the political process."

The Citizenship Week event was planned by Student Events in conjunction with the Student Union's Brandeis Votes initiative. The event is associated with the national Rock the Vote organization that tries to motivate young people to become politically active and aware.`

"It is a voter registration drive. [The purpose is to] help educate students to be informed voters and therefore better citizens with a solid knowledge of the issues in this election, such as healthcare, relations with Israel, and renewable energy sources," said Diamond.

Students for Environmental Action, STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, Brandeis Democrats, the Brandeis Labor Coalition, Positive Foundations and 11 other clubs presented information about the candidates' stance on their issues at the event.

Caitlin Smith '10, a member of the Brandeis Labor Coalition explained, "We show what [Barack Obama's and John McCain's] past history has been on labor issues. For instance, Barack Obama advocates raising the minimum wage, and in the past he has opposed the United States Dominican Central America Free Trade Agreement. Also, he's an opponent of [North American Free Trade Agreement], and in the past John McCain has supported NAFTA and the United States Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement."

Rock the Vote was a bipartisan event, in which clubs did not align with any one candidate.

"We're trying to be really bipartisan; we are not taking a stand, we're just providing information for people to make their own informed choices," Smith said.

"We are trying to give solid information for each candidate unbiased," said Danielle Meyers '12, a member of STAND. "We have a little bit of information about their legislative history, like what bills they've co-sponsored and whatnot. Basically each candidate supports ending genocide in Darfur, but the problem is they haven't taken much action. So we basically compare what action they've each individually taken."

She said John McCain has voted for several initiatives to promote progress in Darfur and has co-sponsored one bill enforcing a no-fly zone in the region. Obama has co-sponsored six bills that enforce goals like civilian protection and divestment from companies that do business in Sudan.

Rebecca Hine '09, a member of SEA, explained, "We're here just because we want students to know about each candidate and what they stand for. Both candidates are more environmentally conscious than past candidates, so no matter what, there's going to be an improvement."

At the event, there was free pizza and T-shirt giveaways for registering students. There was live music, as well as a mechanical bull and a Democrat-versus-Republican jousting match on inflatable toys.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Diamond wrote, "The event was a success in our opinion since not only did we get students (and a few staff members) registered, but we gave students a good time, some free food and some basic education on the issues of this election.