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There wasn't much else to do as she rode on the bus Sunday to the President's Convocation at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
"Someone came up to me and asked if I wanted to register," Potdar said. "I said, 'Yeah.' It was easy. Took me two minutes."
The Associated Student Government kicked off its voter registration drive on the buses, helping register about 300 freshmen.
"Freshmen sitting on buses — it was a good opportunity to register them," ASG President Adam Humann said.
The drive — which will continue until the Oct. 10 voter registration deadline — is a collaboration of student groups, including College Democrats, Northwestern Community Development Corps and Greek organizations, said Humann, a Weinberg senior.
"To my knowledge, there's never been a coordinated effort like this to get people to vote," he said.
The drive will continue in residence halls with tables at munchies or in dining halls, and tables with registration representatives will be set up in Norris University Center and in Greek houses, Humann said.
Rock the Vote, a group that brings bands to college campuses to encourage students to vote, will visit NU on Oct. 26th.
"Rock the Vote is going to be a forum for student activism," Humann said. "It'll get people excited about the election."
Despite ASG's efforts on Sunday, many freshmen had already opted to register in their home state, rather than in Illinois.
"Maybe three out of 19 kids in my group registered," said Bill Valasek, a peer adviser and McCormick sophomore. "Some didn't want to take the time to fill it out. Some were already registered."
And some just don't care about the upcoming presidential election.
"Their interests don't include politics," Valasek said. "They're thinking about college, classes and parties. They don't see the big picture."
Alyssa Stone, a Speech freshman, said more than half of her friends probably won't vote.
"They're lazy," she said. "They just don't care. They don't see a lot of reciprocation from the government.
"If they vote, it's because their parents tell them to, not because they're excited about it."
Humann, however, emphasized the importance of NU students getting involved in both local and national politics.
"I really want to see NU students involved in Evanston politics," he said. "There should be someone expressing our opinion on the Evanston City Council.
"Voting is the easiest way to express your voice in politics. You need to start by voting."
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