The Orbis

With the election less than two months away, Nashville's Rock the Vote Street Team is putting its Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort into full blast. Ashley Collier-Medley, the Nashville Street Team Leader, is really anxious and excited to get Rock the Vote effort up and moving both in Nashville and at colleges and universities in the area.

Recently the Nashville Street Team held a Benefit Concert at Exit/In. Exit/In, located close-by on Elliston Place, is a familiar venue for Vanderbilt students and is noted for its intimate ambiance. The concert, which took place on Sept. 10, featured Emerson Heart of Tonic as the headliner, as well as The Early Evening and Warner Brother's recording artist Dave Dixon. Unfortunately, the night was not without some drama as The Plastic Rulers, another band scheduled to play, cancelled fifteen minutes before their time slot.

Although the organizers "didn't make as much money as they wanted to," the event was relatively successful. Approximately half of the audience was registered to vote and the Nashville Street Team raised over $500 dollars by the end of the night. Collier-Medley hopes to make the benefit concert a semi-annual event. Although there is no definite time frame yet, the next event would likely take place next semester.

From now until October, Rock the Vote has planned several voter registration events; however, in October Collier-Medley says she wants to focus "more on issue-based things." These events could range from issue forums to event speakers. Even after Election Day, Rock the Vote has no intention of diminishing its efforts. Collier-Medley stated that Rock the Vote is interested in "making candidates care about what affects youth." The hope is that people will make an effort to stay involved with the Nashville Street Team as well as with the local chapter of RTV at their respective school.

The next event that Rock the Vote is sponsoring is National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 23. Vanderbilt's Rock the Vote Chapter will be stationed on Rand Wall Thursday afternoon registering students to vote and sharing information about GOTV initiatives taking place on the Vanderbilt campus and throughout the city.

If you are interested in working with Rock the Vote either at Vanderbilt or with the Nashville Street Team, please contact Jessica Shields (jessica.d.shields@vanderbilt.edu) for more information.

Article Tools