Kennedy kid rocks the vote

‘ ‘ ‘ Music blasted from the William Pitt Union lawn on Sunday afternoon as students and… ‘ ‘ ‘ Music blasted from the William Pitt Union lawn on Sunday afternoon as students and graduates alike rocked out. ‘ ‘ ‘ But in between sets, Max Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, took the stage. ‘ ‘ ‘ At the event hosted by Rock the Vote, a national organization dedicated to registering young adults to vote and encouraging them to turn out on Election Day, Kennedy addressed the importance of the youth vote. ‘ ‘ ‘ He said there is a need for change within the country and that he believes that younger voters will bring about this change. ‘ ‘ ‘ After the speech, Kennedy told The Pitt News how important he thinks the youth vote is this year. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The candidate who wins the youth vote will be the next president,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Besides Kennedy, three performers ‘mdash; Denora, Trevor Menear and Wiz Khalifa ‘mdash; entertained the crowd with short sets. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt student Casey Hanner of Denora said that her band had never played for Rock the Vote before but that it supports the cause.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘They asked if we would play it, and we said absolutely … We’re all about it,’ said Hanner. ‘ ‘ ‘ Hanner said that the event was generally bipartisan. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘From the nature of the event, I think there are more Democrats here, but they do a really good job of making it just about voting,’ said Hanner. ‘ ‘ ‘ Kennedy called those who think their vote will not matter ‘idiots’ and said, ‘If you want something to stop and you don’t vote, then shut up.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ He encouraged students not only to get out and vote, but also to ‘go and get friends to vote, get your floor to vote.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt junior Adele Meyer said she agreed that the event leans Democrat despite its bipartisan mission.’ When asked why young people should vote, she said, ‘Otherwise, Obama won’t win.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The event officially steered away from political leanings, however, by utilizing the Student Voters Coalition, a bipartisan voter registration organization. After being drawn into the event by the live music, students working for the group questioned attendees about their voter registration status. ‘ ‘ ‘ Tom Chidiac, a Pitt freshman working for the coalition, said he was frustrated with the excuses students make for not registering. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Most students don’t realize that it only takes less than seventy seconds to fill out a voter registration form,’ he said. ‘It takes less time, and it’s more reliable than an absentee ballot.” ‘ ‘ ‘ WPTS, Pitt’s student radio station, publicized the event around campus. While WPTS has never previously worked with Rock the Vote, Kate Rath, a Pitt student and member of WPTS radio, said that the radio station relished the opportunity.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We jumped on it because it’s a good cause,’ said Rath.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ To date, Rock the Vote has registered more than 1.5 million voters, according to Kim Rogers, a political director for the organization.