Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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STANDING OUTSIDE KSU Stadium, Julie Tharp, senior in secondary education, registers to vote with Student Govern- ment Association member Laurie Osage, senior in sociology, before the K•State versus Oklahoma State game OM. 12. Members of SGA were at the stadium, as well as Varney ' s, registering students to vote In the Nov. S election. — Photo by Karen Mikols ATI I TING 1111 PEON Tom Hawk, candidate for the Kansas House of Rep- resentatives, talks to Blair Reynolds, sophomore in political science, about his political campaign. Hawk hosted a concert Sept. 6 at CiCo Park to help Inform people about voting. — Photo by Jenny Braniff Student Voting 27

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AS PREPARATION (or the Nov. S election, Joel Mease, Junior in political science, completes a voter registration form Oct. 12. ' I ' m here to help out Tom Hawk:Me:4m said. ' I helped him out earlier this summer and had a blast. ' The last day to register to vote for the election was Oct. 21.— Photo by Matt Elliott voter friendl candidate ' s attempts to educate students about voting have mixed response by Rachel Von Uhl MASSIVE, BRIGHTLY COLORED BILLBOARDS and signs decorated Manhattan lawns and store-fronts during the fall campaigning season. Even with their smiling faces and catchy slogans, candidates struggled to lure K-State students to voting booths. Tom Hawk, candidate for the Kansas House of Representatives, said running a political campaign involving students was part education, part entertainment and part persuasion. Hawk attempted to spark students ' interest in voting by passing out fliers, organizing a concert featuring local bands and helping college students register to vote. Students involved in Hawk ' s campaign set up a voter registration table and answered questions about voting and Hawk ' s campaign. I think students are confused because they don ' t know where to vote or if they can vote in this district, even if they aren ' t from Manhattan, Hawk said. Overall, students think they don ' t matter and their opinions aren ' t important. Falling in the lowest voting bracket, 32.3 percent of IS to 24-year-olds voted in the 2000 national election. I believe voting is very important, said Keisha Clark, junior in political science and psychology. People can ' t complain about the results of elections if they don ' t vote. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, college students continued to make up the largest age group of non-voters. You can ' t force it (voting) on college students, Spencer Stelljes, senior in political science, said. Everyone has their own opinions about voting. For some students, platform issues, such as taxes and social security, weren ' t of much interest. Most students are still dependents, Stelljes said. We don ' t necessarily see anything coming back to us. For a majority of students, voting was not a top priority on Nov. 5. 1 don ' t think my vote matters in the election, Liz Van Zant, freshman in business administration, said. Politics confuse me, so I don ' t take much interest in them. In an effort to get more students to vote, the Student Government Association hosted Cat ' s Challenge, a competition against the University of Kansas. The goal of thecompetition was to get the most students and residents to vote during their respective football games Oct. 12. Once the results were tallied, the losing school ' s SGA members had to wear the opposing school ' s colors at the Nov. 2 K-State vs. KU football game. College students have valuable opinions they should share by voting and getting involved in political campaigns, Hawk said. Young people have faith and confidence in the future, Hawk said. They should be taken seriously. 26 I Student Life

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De-Stress Instantly A 5-step program you can do anytime, anyplace. MOFLEH AWAWDEH, grad- uate student In animal science, studies In Hale Library Oct. 10. If you have lots of homework and research going on, you kind of feel confused and stressed, ' Awaw- deh said. I ' m here two or three times a week. It gives you a good ermlronment to study, so sometimes I just come here rather than study in my officer For more Infor- mation on what Untver- sity Counseling Services offers, visit www.ksu.edu counseling. — Photo by Matt Stamey — Close your eyes and picture a place you like where you feel happy, comfortable, and relaxed. A warm beach, a cool forest...what works for you? — Breathe from your abdomen, not your chest. Breathe slowly and evenly, and focus on your breath moving in and out. Yawn deeply to get oxygen into your system. — Stand up and stretch. Sit up and stretch if you can ' t. If any stretching is too public, quietly tense-hold- release your muscles. Do it three times, holding for to seconds each time. — Drop your jaw. Then, drop your shoulders. Gently roll your head from side to side several times. Keep picturing yourself In that place of comfort and relaxation. — Return to the present and calmly move through your activity. As you do, think about your toes, fingers, and tummy. Make sure they are not flexed and tight, but rather loose and light. Wonnation to lMinniry Cowin...0g So INK ft 28 Student Life