Neither the rain nor the late hour could keep Illinois state Rep. Julie Hamos (D) and nearly 200 people from Friday night’s party at Evanston’s Prairie Moon, 1502 Sherman Ave.
Just before midnight, Hamos took off her tweed suit jacket and stepped out onto the dance floor to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop (‘Til You Get Enough).”
Hamos also took time to talk to young voters, most of them Northwestern students, about the importance of their decision in November.
“I would do anything to get more people involved (in voting),” Hamos said. “This election is important because we are in a war and will probably be in war for a long time. Young people are the ones being asked to fight in the war, so they should be involved.”
Voters of Today Excited, a political action committee established by three NU juniors, sponsored Friday night’s “Party Against Bush.”
“All I cared about was meeting (Hamos),” said Weinberg sophomore Kira Romansky, who is from Maryland but registered to vote in Illinois, where she feels she can make more of an impact.
“It was important to meet someone who feels the same way I do and wasn’t a peer but was someone who can make a difference,” Romansky added.
Political action committees raise money to contribute directly to a candidate’s campaign, according to Brad Laken, one of VOTE’s founders.
VOTE took advantage of the “party” to request donations for the Democratic National Committee.
Although VOTE raised about $1,000 Friday evening, making campaign contributions is not as important to VOTE as it may be to other political action committees, Laken said.
“Our goal beyond raising money is to raise awareness on campus and to make people passionate about voting and passionate about voicing their views,” Laken said.
Laken, a Weinberg junior, became involved with VOTE because he sees this year’s election as pivotal.
“I think this is the most important election we will see in our lifetime,” he said. “It’s not an election between two candidates but a referendum on how we want to see this country run in the future.”
Laken devised the plans for VOTE over the summer and pitched the idea to friends Matt Rosenthal and Cory Gluck when he returned to campus in September.
Rosenthal, a Communication junior, said he was excited about Laken’s proposal. Rosenthal was not involved in politics until he registered to vote a few months ago.
“I thought, ‘Now that you’ve registered to vote, you have to make an intelligent decision and you have to get involved,'” Rosenthal said.
VOTE now is working with Illinois for Kerry to help establish a new group called Illinois Students for Kerry.
Hamos said she was excited to learn about the students’ involvement in the campaign.
“It’s gratifying to see a whole new energy for this election,” Hamos said. “I think people get how important it is.”
Hamos said she was energized by talking with young voters at the party.
“They wanted to talk about social issues and ask me how I feel about the issues,” Hamos said.
“Young people are progressive in their thinking. They’re going to change the world some day, ” she continued.
Reach Lindsay Minnema at [email protected].
