ASUA will promote the presidential debate and student voting at their block party today from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Main Gate Square on University Boulevard.
The Rad, White and Blue block party is free to all students and will feature a student DJ, the live presidential debate broadcast on two screens and a concert after the debate featuring local band Radical Something. Restaurants on University Boulevard will be offering special deals to coincide with the event, giving students the opportunity to eat while watching the broadcast.
Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Katy Murray explained that Radical Something was picked as the concert artist due to the band’s recent increase in fan base across the state.
“In addition to them really wanting to come perform here, students had asked we bring Radical Something,” Murray said. “So we thought it would be a good match.”
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will also be speaking at the block party along with a speaker from the UA athletics department.
ASUA is paying for most of the event, except for the projector screens which are being provided by Cox Communications. Most of the funding came as a result of the ASUA Senate’s vote at their Sept. 12 meeting, allocating $5,000 to the event. The DJ for the event, Jack Strandberg, a junior in psychology and pre-law, was in ASUA last year and is performing for free.
ASUA, the Arizona Students Association and the Wildcat Events Board all collaborated to put on the event to educate students about the presidential election.
“We all kind of collaborated to say ‘OK, how can we make this event the best for the best turnout in bringing the most students?’” Murray said. “It was very much a group effort.”
ASA interns will be attending the event wearing their shirts that read “Don’t just watch, vote 2012,” and encouraging students to fill out voter registration forms.
“ASA’s goals throughout this event is to, one, educate students on the two stances of the president’s,” said ASA board of directors member Jordan King. “And, two, get them to vote so they can actually act on what they hear tonight, and what they hear from the other debates.”
The Wildcat Events Board Concert Director, Mike Mazzella, explained that Jane McCollum, from the Marshall Foundation, helped by providing ASUA with the use of University Boulevard and approving the concert artist.
“We won’t just have one big finale at the end of the year and no other concerts preceding it,” Mazzella said. “We’d like to have a few throughout the year so students stay engaged and have more fun times and are able to experience some new music.”
