Black men and women have fought for the right to vote for decades.

Now, the Black Student Union is crusading for a higher voter turnout by informing students with the panel discussion “Blacks Can’t Vote.”

The lecture held Wednesday night in Coleman Hall began with a video showing the hardships black people have overcome through the years.

Then, due to technical difficulties, the video presentation halted, and a power point presentation outlined voting basics and deadlines.

Ian Williams, cabinet director of academic affairs for BSU, said Tuesday is the deadline to register to vote.

Williams stressed the importance of getting to know the candidates before casting a vote.

He said he believes students should be informed before they make a decision.

DeMarlon Brown, president of BSU, hoped the discussion would not only educate voters, but hoped students would take the knowledge they gained and exercise their right to vote.

BSU also campaigns alongside Eastern’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority to get students registered to vote in the union and both quads.

Brown said the group registered 108 students the first day.

The panel discussion encouraged students to field any questions they had concerning the election.

The panel included members of BSU and political science professor Kevin Anderson.

One concern was the ballot confusion in the 2000 presidential election.

“In all honesty, you cannot dismiss the possibility,” Anderson said.

The panel discussed the chance for the situation to happen again, but Anderson said he believes Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s expanding lead will help dismiss the issue of ballot checking.

Students were also concerned with any uproar that may occur if Republican nominee John McCain wins the election.

“There will be some smoke in the city,” said Watson.

Watson also expressed a concern that both educated and uneducated people will not know how to express themselves if Obama is not elected.

Brown said every vote counts and this is a crucial election because it is opening doors for so many people and future elections.

“We will go to an intramural game before we go out to vote, and we will update our MySpace page before we choose to register,” Brown said. “Men and women fought for the right to vote and we don’t use it.”

Cari Waffford can be reached at 581-7942 or at dennewsdesk@gmail.com.

Charles Kyle answers a question regarding whether Barack Obama being elected president will affect racism at the “Blacks Can’t Vote: The Sequel” lecture in Coleman Hall on Wednesday night. (Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News)

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