DePauw University will be holding its second ever campus-wide election party this Tuesday, Nov. 6 starting at 7 p.m. in the Union Building Ballroom. The bipartisan party will aim to promote student awareness of the election.
"Throughout the design of our major, the communications departmental mission talks about promoting engaged citizenship and political responsibility," said communication and theatre professor Steve Timm, who is of one of the professors in charge of planning the event. "When we have an election coming up with this level of significance, it seems appropriate to practice what we preach."
After a turnout of over 1,000 students during the 2008 election party, senior Kaitlin Klose, general manager of D3TV, has been collaborating with both Timm and professor Maryann Gallagher since early August in order to develop the party to its fullest potential. Students are encouraged to bring their homework to the event, and enjoy the night. A variety of free food is being offered including pizza, snacks and soda.
"While the major turnout of the last election party was in large part due to 2008's controversial election, this year's election is going to be an extremely close race," Klose said. "We hope that for that reason, this year's turnout will draw even more participation from the students and professors than before."
Multiple news sources such as FOX News and CNN will be broadcasted during the entire party, and student volunteers will be updating the DePauw viewers hourly with progress of the election from the polls. The decoration committee will hang a large map in the U.B. ballroom that will be colored in correspondence to the progress of the election.
Besides the poll updates, the party will be offering a variety of entertainment. In order to give each event its own undivided attention, these events will be spaced throughout the night. DePauwcapella will be performing at 9 p.m., and then at 10 p.m. the Mongrel Dogs, a band composed of professors, will perform. D3TV will broadcast a political section of The Source, and an election-based episode of the Pre-recorded Late Night Show will be shown.
"These forms of entertainment will hopefully draw from a different crowd of students on campus," Klose said. "Students who come to see their friends and professors perform who otherwise wouldn't have followed the election will have the chance to catch the progress of the race."
New to the election party this year is the addition of the round table. A few professors have hand-selected two or three students to discuss popular topics of the election. The three round table discussions are "The Ethics of Voting," "Women in the Election" and "Outside Influences on the Election."
"This idea of engaged citizenship implies responsibility to wade through campaign rhetoric to look at issues honestly," Timm said. "We hope that these round tables demonstrate that there are ways to discuss issues at hand intelligently and thoroughly and with due respect to people with different points of view."
Senior Jonathan Rosario will be one of the students participating in the "Ethics of Voting" round table.
"The round table discussions will provide an intellectual environment for DePauw students that are interested in relevant topics tied to the debate," Rosario said. "It's a cool opportunity, and I'm excited for it."
Klose sees the party as an opportunity to celebrate democracy instead of an event that will cater to controversy.
"I want to see people get excited over it. With so many of us being first-time voters, now more than ever, we can make a difference," Klose said. "People have different views, but we can still come together and do what's best for this country."