Actor Kal Penn and actress Jurnee Smollett speak to students Tuesday afternoon about the significance they have on the upcoming election at the North Case Hall lounge. Penn along with Smollett passed out information on how to register to vote.
Fans of “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” would expect lead character Kumar to get high or go to White Castle. But to vote?
Actor Kal Penn, who plays Kumar in the movies, has been encouraging college students to register to vote across the country with actress Jurnee Smollett.
The two stopped at North Case Hall on Wednesday to visit the MSU Students for Barack Obama and came away impressed.
“People don’t think college students care about voting, but judging by what I see here, they are wrong,” Penn said.
He addressed students for about five minutes before handing out clipboards with registration papers to students. Following the meeting, students went across campus to help fellow students register.
“The voter registration efforts that you’ve done, the outreach is legendary to be quite honest,” Penn said. “My impression (of MSU) was incredibly positive even before we got here.”
Along with getting students registered, Penn and Smollett have been campaigning for Obama.
“The last disastrous eight years can easily be repeated if we do nothing, but we can change that if we simply register to vote and register our friends,” Penn said.
Michael Overton, a freshman intern for the Students for Barack Obama, said they register all students, not just Obama supporters.
Penn also stressed the importance of students in Michigan.
“Michigan is a battleground state, but there is a disproportionate number of college students here,” he said. “We can shift the presidential election many times over just by college students voting.”
Penn’s celebrity has gotten the attention of MSU students.
“College kids love his movies,” James Madison freshman Kevin Pietrick said. “He’s gonna get attention and whenever you have that, you will get more voters.”
Pietrick is not a member of the Students for Barack Obama, but came because he wanted to see Penn.
The deadline to register to vote in Michigan is Oct. 6.
“You’ve also beaten that U of M school in terms of voter registration numbers,” Penn said, with a smile.
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