Students can speak with local political representatives duringthis year's first Multicultural Center Brown Bag Discussion todayat 12 p.m. in the Multicultural Center.
The three representatives include Dennis Tyler, chairman of theDelaware County Democratic Party; Kaye Whitehead, chairman of theDelaware County Republican Party; and Brad Klopfenstein, executivedirector of the Libertarian Party of Indiana.
The informal lunch discussion will allow students to gain abetter understanding of what each party stands for without beingpressured to vote in a certain manner, Tim Thompson, graduateassistant at the Multicultural Center, said.
"It's really a discussion of issues and focuses on theDemocratic, Republican and Libertarian stances on these issues,"Thompson said.
Possible discussion issues include the war in Iraq, educationfunding and the economy. He said the representatives will speak forabout two-thirds of the time and will allow students to speak orask questions during the remainder of the session.
"Looking at the last four years at the issues our country hasfaced, I think it's important that students get involved and maketheir voice heard," Thompson said.
Derick Virgil, director of the Multicultural Center, said thediscussion will provide a balanced view of the major partiesinvolved in the political process so students can judge forthemselves the best position to take.
"It's important for students to learn more because their vote isvery important," Virgil said.
Thompson said he hopes this discussion will improve voterturnout among Ball State students, especially during this year'supcoming presidential election.
"Many students say, 'My voice doesn't really matter. I can'tmake a difference,'" Thompson said. "Individually I probably can't,but if 400 or 500 of my friends vote, there's a lot of differencethat can be made."
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