Students hovered over tables in the Holliday Forum of the Journalism Building on Thursday, quickly scribbling their information onto voter registration forms. They also  watched a screening of “18 in ‘08,” a documentary exploring the unutilized power of the youth vote.Created by 19-year-old filmmaker David Burnstein, “18 in ‘08″ is comprised of interviews with students and political figures. The film was created to motivate people from 18 to 24 years old to register to vote and participate in government.”Vote ‘08″ is a part of a larger movement by the Reilly Center to encourage University students to register to vote. Though they have only registered 291 students, they hope to have many more by Election Day.”We’re trying to generate public interest with these events, and hopefully we’ll reach our goal of registering 2,000 students,” said Heather Herman, Reilly Center program coordinator for media and public affairs.Students hurried to fit their forms into the box in the room.”The youth vote can move mountains,” said Chelsea Gomex, mass communication junior. “The more people we get registered, the more likely they will be to vote.”Burnstein was introduced by Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, who spoke to students about the importance of voting.”The Millennial Generation is just about as large as baby boomers,” he said. “I’ll be shocked if your generation is not bombarded with messages by presidential wannabes.”After the applause, Burnstein introduced his film. The student interviews that make up the bulk of the film reflect both the cynicism and concerns that exist in young voters. Interviews with political players such as John Kerry, Wes Clark, Jeb Bush and James Carville explain the importance of the youth demographic and their potential political power.After the film, Burnstein spoke to the crowd about his film and his nationwide tour. Since he began to tour college campuses last June, 23,000 people have registered to vote at screenings of his film.”There is an opportunity for our generation to have an incredible voice in the political process,” Burnstein said.
 
—-
Contact Adam Duvernay at [email protected]