Campaign for Young Voters : A Rocking Political Rally Induces the College-Age Generation to Register

Mark Bell didn’t quite fit in the demographic pool that MTV, the music video channel, was hoping to attract Saturday at Cal State Northridge. The 45-year-old dad, who has more than 25 years of voting under his belt, was drawn to the scene after leaving his son at a nearby soccer game.

“I just saw this political stuff and said ‘Whoa, dude, this is my kind of stuff,’ ” said Bell, a self-described political junkie.

But standing just inches away from Bell were the true targets of MTV’s latest efforts to entice more young Americans to register to vote in this year’s presidential election.

Crowded onto a student parking lot--either shooting baskets in an NBA-sponsored tournament or taking in a few of the informal games--were hundreds of men and women ripe for the picking.

“People 18 to 24 need to see where politicians are coming from,” said Vanessa Reyes, a publicist for MTV. “And the politicians need to realize that this generation is going to be very much a part of the country’s political process.”

This is the second time that MTV and Rock the Vote, a Santa Monica-based voter registration campaign, have joined forces to put the word out on the street and over the airwaves for young people to make their presence known at polling booths this November.

In 1992, the campaign registered approximately 350,000 college students. This election year, it aims to double that number.

The new gimmick: a red, white, and blue bus emblazoned with quotes ranging from President Harry S. Truman to Snoop Doggy Dogg. The interior is equipped with a kitchen, an electronic control room, and a posh sitting room with burgundy cloth wallpaper embroidered with gold stars, a tiled-mosaic table and faux leopard-skin carpet--all for the enjoyment of campaign volunteers, though, not prospective voters.

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The “Choose or Lose” bus has become the centerpiece of MTV’s voter registration campaign as it travels around the country, stopping at college campuses and shopping malls. Since it hit the road in January, the patriotic, 45-foot behemoth has visited 20 states and registered more than 7,000 people.

“With the younger generation, there’s no more apathy than with any other part of the electorate. They just express things in different ways,” said Jamie Uzeta, a Rock the Vote field coordinator traveling with the “Choose or Lose” bus. “What I’m trying to do is make them aware of how they can help.”

At CSUN, the bus sat on the fringe of the frenetic, 3-on-3 basketball tournament, at times ignored by spectators who were too busy watching panting players try to maneuver for a lay-up.

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Those who did stop at the registration table were greeted by a cacophony of blaring music from the speakers of MTV’s video monitors and prerecorded public service announcements about the pending election. Passers-by also had the chance to answer an eight-question survey about their politics through interactive electronic kiosks.

The noise didn’t deter Mark Delfin of Simi Valley. Delfin, a senior at Chaminade Prep School in West Hills, just turned 18 in January and was looking for a place to register.

“We’re always discussing in school that the right to vote is the best privilege you have,” Delfin said. “I’m 18 and finally have a chance to vote and maybe make a difference and I’m definitely going to make use of that opportunity.”

Delfin was so pumped up about his new privilege that he yelled at a friend to register, too. “Hey, John, you register to vote yet? Do it, man! Register!”

But John Wasley, 18, was too busy watching the basketball game unfold.

“I might register when the game is finished,” he said. “I just want to watch the game real quick.” Wasley said he’ll vote if he registers, although he’s not too enthused about politics.

“It’s not too big a deal to me,” he said, “but I guess I’d vote if I had the chance.”