With the election race so tight, and Ohio being an important swing state the campaign for John Kerry brought the Kerry College Bus Tour to campus. They held a campaign rally on Friday night featuring celebrities Jake Gyllenhaal, Allison Munn, Chris Heinz and Max Weinberg.
The rally was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but because it was a last minute addition, it didn’t start until 8:17 p.m. “I got a call Tuesday night that people might be coming, and it was not finalized until Wednesday,” said Katie Hartwell president of College Democrats. “I woke up Wednesday morning to a phone call saying, all right this is what we’re doing and this is what we need.”
But she couldn’t have been happier with the results. Even as the clock ticked further and further from 7 p.m. the crowd of around 200 remained enthused and energetic as they waited to see the stars arrive.
When they all came out they received thunderous applause and many waved signs supporting John Kerry.
Many of the speakers took the opportunity to stress the importance of voting and to try and talk about why they thought Kerry had strong character and the right policies for America.
Scott Wolf (“Party of Five”) recollected the first time he met John Kerry at a fundraiser in Boston eight years ago. He was struck by the poise and intellect of Kerry. “I always thought to myself, ‘I hope to see the day some day when that man runs for President'” said Wolf, “and thank God that day is today.”
Munn, who has appeared on “That 70s Show” and the WB’s “What I Like About You,” stressed the importance and pride that comes with voting. She talked about recently voting in her native Beverly Hills. “It made me feel like I was doing everything I could do to change the last four years of incompetence,” she said.
Gyllenhaal also touched on why young people need to go to the polls. “When young people turn the age to vote they are more excited about buying porno and cigarettes than voting,” he lamented. He then called on everyone to get active in politics and make voting sexy again.
The final speaker was John Kerry’s stepson, Christopher Heinz. He spent much of his time defining what kind of man Kerry is. He spoke of Kerry bringing together the Heinz family after the death of their father.
“Andrew Card, the President’s chief of staff, said, ‘the President sees the country like a parent with a 10 year old child” said Heinz. Being President, he said, was more like being a stepfather, drawing on the role Kerry played in his upbringing.
The speakers didn’t pull any punches towards President Bush. Wolf talked about how Bush is proud of making decisions based on his gut. “The problem with that is its not just his country it is everyone’s country.”
Others mentioned the possibility of a draft, and women’s rights based on the possibility of the next President appointing people to the Supreme Court.
“A group of men who know nothing about what it is like being a woman want to make choices about our bodies,” said Munn.
Heinz criticized Bush administration ties to the oil industry. “Did you know that Condoleezza Rice had an Exxon oil tanker named after her?” he asked. “I can’t even get vanity plates on my truck.”
For some people inside the rally the debate was not about policy or who to vote for, it was about which celebrity they were most looking forward to seeing.
Joey Catullo, freshman, and Chris Taylor, freshman, went to the event together and while they agreed that events like Friday’s were good to rally the base more than convert voters they didn’t agree on which star they liked best. Catullo was for Max Weinberg, while Chris leaned toward Jake Gyllenhaal.
David Jackson, an assistant professor of political science at the University went to see the dynamic of celebrities and politics. “I studied pop culture and political science in college and I’m interested if this is actually going to work.”
In fact, while many see celebrities are criticized for outspoken political views Jackson thinks it is a huge risk they take every time they let their views be known.
“I think it is far more risky for celebrities than it is beneficial to them,” he said.”
“It is really important because they are looked up to so much in our age group.” said Ashley Fair, junior.
“It helps a lot. It made me come here, If they weren’t here I wouldn’t be here.” Tiffany Bryan, sophomore.
“You saw the way they reacted to Jake,” said Munn. “They weren’t here to see me, or because they love politics they were here to see Jake.”
Wolf said that while celebrities don’t have any more or less of a right, they can speak out about anything they are passionate about. “After you talk for a minute people are going to know if you’re speaking from your heart… This is my voice and this is what I stand for.”
Weinberg said that he is speaking about because he realizes how important the upcoming election is. “It is the most important election of my lifetime and I’m 53,” he said. “We are still citizens of this country, and a lot of us have children.”
