"What happened to the balls?" Gov. Joe Kernan, the Democraticincumbent, yelled as he searched for stress balls imprinted withthe Kernan/Davis logo.
The crowd encompassing him clutched their cameras withanticipation as they waited for the governor to toss them a stressball.
Standing strong behind the Kernan supporters, a mass of loyalvolunteers wearing green "My Man Mitch" T-shirts held up signs forMitch Daniels, the Republican candidate for governor, as they spoketo passersby.
Both gubernatorial candidates made a brief speech Tuesday duringthe "Rock the Vote" stop at Indiana University-Purdue University inIndianapolis.
"Rock the Vote" is a non-profit organization to increase theyouth voter turn out, according to www.rockthevote.com. This year,"Rock the Vote" and MTV joined forces with a bus tour travelingacross the United States to bring speakers and bands to promotevoter participation.
After being contacted by "Rock the Vote," IUPUI's studentgovernment spent two and a half months organizing the event. It wasdifficult to work around Daniels' and Kernan's schedules, JennaBaker, an IUPUI sophomore who helped put the event together,said.
"It was hard to get them here this time of year, but they sawthe value of the 18 to 24 demographic and worked with us," shesaid.
While Kernan and Daniels were representing their own campaignsthrough volunteers and information tables at IUPUI, they didn'ttalk about campaign issues during their speeches. Instead, thecandidates discussed the importance of voting.
"People have found it convenient to make excuses - their votedoesn't matter, their vote doesn't count - and nothing could befurther from the truth," Kernan said. "The fewer people that votemeans fewer people making the decisions. Not only do I feel thatvoting is a right, I think it's a responsibility."
If nothing else, voting is a way for people to remember howlucky they are, Daniels said.
"It's a little reminder not to take all you have for granted[such as] freedom and the prosperity that comes from freedom,"Daniels said.
Baker said that voter apathy is behind the lack of youth voterparticipation. Students don't care to vote because they don't seethe electoral process directly affecting them, even though thegovernment makes decisions concerning their education, shesaid.
"I think anytime that voting is put as a message, no matter theforum, when it reaches students on a personal level, that's how youget them to vote," she said. "It plants the seed in theirbrain."
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