OXFORD, Miss. – The Grove and Circle were littered with plasma screens,
polling booths and a long line of miniature white windmills as students
and visitors anticipated the first of three presidential debates during
Friday’s Rock the Debate festival at the University of Mississippi.
Vendors and media outlets displayed some of the latest technology and reached out to the community in ways that would have been unimaginable in past elections.
“Now this is crazy,” said Lauren Beattie, a senior English major from Madison, standing outside the Microsoft bus parked in front of Bryant Hall. Hundreds of people filtered through the bus displaying the latest touch-screen, video conferencing and home computer technology.
Meanwhile, directly next door, James Pellefico, a tour manager for the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization Rock the Vote, helped passers-by to register to vote using the AT&T-sponsored bus equipped with a touch-screen registration booth. Students also recorded personal public service announcements to appear later on http://www.rockthevote.org.
Pellefico estimated that his group registered nearly 200 new voters Friday afternoon. He and his crew have followed the 2008 campaign for months, attending both Democratic and Republican conventions. When asked if he thought the legends of Southern hospitality have proven true during his time in Mississippi, he said “absolutely.”
But in this age of technology, Ole Miss students managed to reach those way beyond the Grove with the help of CNN’s aluminum trailer where students took polls, answered trivia questions and delivered messages directly to CNN’s online producers about what matters to them in this election season. Some would later appear online and on TV.
Junior accounting major Lindsey Denton named education as the most important issue in her view on politics.
“(Education) is the foundation of everything,” said Denton, from North Toone, Tenn., after exiting the polling booth. “I think the more knowledge your voting base has, then the better represented they will be.”
“We find this is a good way to really get a feel on the pulse of the nation,” said Ryan Mooney, strategic manager with CNN’s Strategic Marketing. “We are here to meet and get the word to people who may not get to go to the debates.”
C-SPAN producers also welcomed visitors to look over their shoulders as they kept the doors open to their TV production bus on the Circle.
Over in the Grove, the Cellular South booth offered a polling booth for students, and the Dell computer booth let visitors sample the latest video games and try their hand at rocking the debate in their own way with the latest version of “Guitar Hero.”
Daily Mississippian reporter Sarah Shows was on duty Friday as she explored the Grove to find the long line of miniature windmills. The display symbolized an exciting possibility for a future, where technology can create renewable energy sources, she said.
“You just write your dream for the future and pin it on,” Shows said.
By the end of the afternoon the windmills were littered with scraps of paper showing others’ wishes for national health care, peace and economic stability in the U.S.