Black sororities, fraternities rally for young votes

Two young female students walked into a classroom in the Howard University School of Communication on October 6 and 7. They had gone for knowledge, but not the kind they usually get from their professors. Kim Williams Clark was sitting in front of the classroom, behind a round table loaded with goodies - M&M's and Ritz sandwich crackers - and absentee ballots. Clark is a member of The Links, one of the nation's oldest and largest Black women's service organizations.

As the November 4 general elections nears, The Links and other Black sororities and fraternities, are turning their attention to increasing the number of Black youths going to the polls and casting their votes.

Clark gave the students absentee ballots to cast their vote right there in the classroom and detailed information about absentee voting. But she also gave them something else: an envelope containing money for stamps for their absentee ballots and Metro fare.

Metro fare is a small price to pay for a student's ability to turn new-found voting information into an actual vote, Clark said.

After all, every vote counts, especially in this historic election which might give the United States its first African-American president. Early voting had come to the Howard University campus. And at the end of each day, Clark personally hand delivered the new voter registrations and early ballots to the D.C. Board of Elections.

Besides registering more young voters, Clark, an attorney and dean of institutional development at Long Island University, grounded the new registrants into the nuts and bolts of casting their votes.

"They will go into the booth all alone, so they need to know what to do when they get in there and come out victorious as a new voter," Clark said.

Because of little-known voting policies, some eligible, young adults may not even make it to the booth. Clark wants to make sure that doesn't happen.

"We want them to leave their Obama or McCain T-shirts at home because they will not be allowed to exercise their right," Clark said. "We want them to come with their proper identification to support that they are who they say they are."

Students praised the efforts of The Links to prepare new registered voters for the election.

"Not enough emphasis is put on by voter registration drives to educate new voters to make informed decisions," said Shana Benjamin, a junior political science major at Howard University. "However, the information is out there. If you want to find it, you can. Making an informed decision is the responsibility of the individual."

At the University of Maryland, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority is tackling the task of informing new prospective voters what to expect at the polls and what to expect from each candidate.

"It's pretty obvious who the presidential candidates are," Monika Young, president of UMD's chapter of Zeta Phi Beta said. But, Young doesn't think the youths know enough about what each candidate stands for on issues critical to them.

Young cited a poll indicating that more youths will not vote because they feel they do not know enough to make an informed decision.

The sorority has mounted an education campaign of informational pamphlets aimed at reducing the number of uninformed decisions. The sorority calls its campaign, "Knowing Your Candidates."

"The pamphlets will give the youth information about issues that will impact their lives in the upcoming years," Young, a kinesiology major, explained.

The pamphlets cover such topics as the economy, war in Iraq, education, jobs and unemployment, fuel costs and healthcare.

Young credits initiatives like Rock the Vote and Respect My Vote for getting young adults more involved in the political process.

But Joshua McCave, president of UMD's chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, knows being involved and being informed are two separate things when casting a vote for the future president.

"As the election fast approaches, we are trying to ensure that all members in the youth community understand what's at stake and who the next potential president is," McCave said. "Because Bush can no longer remain President, the youth should know that Obama or McCain will be different in certain aspects. Therefore, having awareness is critical.