B-A-D-G-E-R-S!

There is no doubt in my mind that Badger fans are some of the best in the Big Ten. You look around Camp Randall at the sea of red and white bodies, hardly another color visible to the eye.

And, from the showing of the alumni, it seems that once a Badger fan, always a Badger fan.

What would happen if every fan in that stadium voted on Election Day?

The best thing about homecoming week is the way it brings not only the campus together, but also the alumni and the community. But this fact becomes more significant with respect to the week’s theme, “Bucky for President.” Although we are not musicians and actors, UW students put out an enthusiastic effort to get out the importance of getting to the polls Nov. 2nd through this week’s events.

That college-age students are the least likely to show up at polls and that voter turnout in the last presidential election only amounted to around 50 percent of all registered voters makes encouraging people to get to the polls that much more important.

To see so many students out this year sharing their political perspectives is an encouraging sign, making me optimistic that more young people will indeed turn out to vote.

Not only that, but with young people taking an active role in promoting political involvement, like tying the theme of voting to homecoming, it makes others want to get involved also.

There are so many people who claim that their vote will not count. Then why was the homecoming theme “Bucky for President,” and why are celebrities so adamant about getting young people to vote?

This election is claimed to be the most important ever, and with the two candidates so close in the polls, younger voters have a huge opportunity to affect who gets into office.

But more importantly, if students get out and vote in large numbers, we have the ability to impact future political agendas. Politicians know that the elderly are more likely to vote, so, not only are their campaigns geared toward winning over the elderly voters, but the policies they are most concerned with once in office must also appease the viewpoints of the elderly so that the candidate will be re-elected.

If students can make voting a rule, rather than an exception, we will have the ability to have a powerful influence on politics and our government.

Getting involved as students and making the theme of homecoming “Bucky for President” not only gets out the word to get students and community members to go to the polls, but also shows the community that perhaps we are getting serious about our right to do so. Only Nov. 2nd will truly show whether we will follow through or not.

So the week started Friday the 15th with the Rock the Vote Concert, and in the days following, student organizations gathered for events including Badger Games, which are relays, tug of war, campus clean-up, a personal favorite “yell like hell,” and of course float building.

Whether you are in the Greek system, another student organization or dorm, you have the opportunity to participate. The only time campus was divided was in Tug of War, which brought in some interesting political flavor to add to the week’s theme.

The College Republicans took on the College Democrats. The pit was surrounded by candidate publicity; Bush supporters were on one side of the pit and Kerry supporters on the other.

The Democrats won. We will have to see if that is a foreshadowing of what will happen on Election Day.

Lindsay Mosher ([email protected]) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism.