The Triangle

Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Dave Hernandez

Mehcad Brooks, an actor from "Desperate Housewives," and Rachel Leigh Cook, who has acted in various movies including "Nancy Drew," came to Drexel University Sept. 29 as part of the Obama campaign's "8 for '08" event.

The actors organized with Democratic student organizations on campuses around the region to raise awareness about the Oct. 6 voter registration deadline in Pennsylvania.

According to Zach Friend, a spokesperson for the Obama campaign, the celebrities volunteered their time and agreed to be surrogates for the campaign because of their deep support for Obama as president.

"To be honest, I am a bleeding-heart liberal, so I would have voted for any Democrat," Cook said. "But what really draws me toward Obama is his tolerance for people who are obviously willing to make it a dirty fight. After all that, Obama still tries to keep it clean and talk about topics that really matter."

Brooks said he supports Obama for his social views and foreign policy; however, he said this event was not about the Obama campaign specifically, but more of an effort to get college students involved in the election.

Sean Miller, president of Drexel Democrats, agreed, saying: "This event is not part of any plan to elect Obama as president. It is really a way to excite students about the upcoming election and make them aware of the Oct. 6 registration deadline."

"The basis of democracy is that if you don't like something, [you can do something to] change it. We are out here to make sure people know that they can do that, but there is a deadline. Basically, we need to fight apathy," Brooks said.

According to Miller, the voter registration drives at Drexel since the New Student Days have registered 1,600 new voters.

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