ASI Brings Capps, Challenger to Campus Nov. 1

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly clubs and Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Student Government will rally voters in the 18- to 24-year-old demographic Nov. 1 and 2 at CP Next: Generation Vote, a two-day event promoting voter education and non-partisan political awareness.

Congressional candidates Lois Capps and Victor Tognazzini, who are vying for the 23rd District seat, will be available to discuss their platforms with students from 1 to 2 p.m. on Wednesday in Chumash Auditorium. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., dozens of Cal Poly clubs will convene for a political awareness club fair in the UU Plaza.

Event organizers are hoping that students will take advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and interact with candidates.

“This is a vehicle for students to get all their voter information up front,” said Melissa Robbins, ASI Student Government chief of staff. “Students don’t always have time to follow current issues or read the 100-page booklet that gets sent out. If they just take half an hour out of their day to come to a forum or a debate, it will give them much more information than they had otherwise.”

On Thursday, the club fair will continue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the UU Plaza. From 1 to 2 p.m., four San Luis Obispo mayoral candidates will debate local issues in Chumash Auditorium. The event will culminate at Farmer’s Market Thursday night, with clubs gathering from 6 to 8 p.m. to share information with the community.

This is the second time students have organized a CP Next event. The first took place in January 2006 and focused on the theme “Sustaining our Culture, Sustaining our World.” More than 40 Cal Poly clubs participated in that event, and a bigger turnout is expected this year.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information about CP Next: Generate Vote, call Melissa Robbins at 756-1291 or e-mail her at chiefofstaff@asi.calpoly.edu.

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