Days 3 & 4: Columbus

We had two screenings in Columbus the first day. The morning screening was at Columbus State Community College. Professor Robert Fitrakis invited us to his "Campaign Politics" class, and other professors from the department joined in as well. The students and EVC youth producers engaged in a fruitful discussion about electoral politics and the power of the student in the 2008 election.

The afternoon screening was at St. Stephen's Community House. It was a younger crowd, and it was nice to hear the audience committing to getting their older brothers and friends to register AND VOTE before Ohio's October 6th voter registration deadline.

The second day we went on a Columbus public high school circuit outreach mission. We spoke to principals at each of these schools, and they were all excited to pass the DVDs along to various teachers and counselors. It is encouraging to see how each school, college and community house we have gone to are already excited about youth voter participation and working with their youth to ensure their voices are heard in November and to help them understand why this is so important.

DANNY:  Days 3 and 4 were packed full of intense grassroots work to send our documentary and get young voters mobilized. In Ohio it seems like we were well-received. Every college we went to it seemed we were a welcomed addition to their already extensive voter mobilization efforts.

TIDIANE:  The whole trip from day 3 and 4 went very well. The screening went well, especially the one we had at the student center. I felt the students connected with my story and enjoyed it. And it was fun doing the Q&A in both screenings, even thought im not a big fan of public speaking. I'm glad everything went well, and now everyone is ready to go home and start fresh.

SHON:  Well, to sum it up, it was cool. Even though I feel Ohio was doing its thing with voter mobilization, they were very happy to see us. We hit hard and came through successful - I feel satisfied.

Want your opinion reflected in the polls?

Below is a list of websites to vote after last night's debate...It's interesting to see the results across the country.

http://www.cnn.com/ 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26906945/

http://news.aol.com/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-who-won-poll,0,1720139,post.poll

http://www.ajc.com/ 

http://www.politico.com/

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/26/who-won-friday-nights-debate-on-foreign-policy/

http://www.drudgereport.com/

http://www.mlive.com/elections/index.ssf/2008/09/poll_who_won_the_debate.html

http://www.star-telegram.com/767/story/936537.html

http://townhall.com/ 

http://jeffblack.newsvine.com/_question/2008/09/26/1919787-who-won-the-presidential-debate

http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/ 

http://ydr.inyork.com/main

http://www.whiotv.com/surveyresults/17569898/index.html 

http://www.kare11.com/

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/feature?section=news&id=6416540 

http://www.nydailynews.com/

http://www.nbc4.com/surveypopup/17569898/detail.html 

http://www.philly.com/philly/polls/29828934.html

http://www.wptv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=4deede50-a1ba-492d-874b-e3a44dae35a9&rss=762 

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2008/09/first_presidential_debate.html

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/09/who_won_the_debate_take_our_po.html

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080926/NEWS0108/309270018

http://www.denverpost.com/

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ 

http://forums.mercurynews.com/poll/who-won-fridays-first-presidential-debate

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-usdeba0927b-poll,0,2858579.poll 

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/polls.list/

http://www.post-gazette.com/polls/?pollID=2707 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/politics/story/217609.html

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/kob-new-mexico/TPQNEL5GF2CAAAHVH 

http://www.ketv.com/surveypopup/politics/17569898/detail.html?p=politics

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/news/photos/polls/debate1poll.html 

http://www.wrcbtv.com/

http://www.wftv.com/surveyresults/17569898/index.html 

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/election08/articles/2008/09/26/20080926debate0926main.html 

http://www.news-journalonline.com/index.htm

http://activitypit.ning.com/

Day 2: Cleveland High School Circuit

Today proved to be quite eventful. We continued our community outreach within various Cleveland neighborhoods, focusing on high schools this time. When calling these schools from New York late last week, we had very little luck finding a person who was interested in screening (or who even answered the phone). We also found out that Ohio high school students have statewide standardized testing all week, hence they have no time for watching a film in the classroom...Nonetheless, we did not let this get us down, and we believed that things will come together when on the ground and face-to-face. Today this was further realized. 

The same schools who rejected us, along with several other unexpected leads, welcomed the crew, their film, and were sorry to hear we wouldn't be here after their testing week. A few highlights include stumbling upon a beautiful building that housed three different high schools. Not only will each principal of the high school have a copy to pass along to their teachers and counselors, but a wonderful woman overheard us speaking and took a few copies as well. It turns out she is part of a statewide network called Youth Voices: "The project brings high school students together to talk about their lives and how their needs translate into policy proposals. For the most part, the high schools organized are rural and urban, providing a compelling mix."

We ended our busy and successful high school touring day with a screening at an after-school center, the DePaul Family Center. We are so grateful for Paul Hill, Jr., for connecting us with the center, with people from tomorrow's community house screening in Columbus, all the Cincinnati connections, as well as his outreach efforts for the last few weeks. The students invited us to their drum lesson after the screening, and we were rejuvenated for our drive to Columbus.

Doc the Vote Pics

These pictures will be updated daily...Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/aminmadani/DocTheVoteOhio2008#

Day 1: Cleveland

DANNY:  Going to the airport, I didn't know what to expect. Landing in an open field with no concrete buildings was refreshing. We weren't really sure what we were going to do since everything was so last minute, and we weren't able to secure a screening as early as today. But we made good use of the day by our grassroots efforts to spread our movie and message to two community colleges in Berea and Cleveland. At Baldwin Wallace Community College, we found the Student Activities representative who is going to give copies of our DVD to the head of their Political Science department and to the political student groups on campus. The second college was Tri-C (Cyahoga Community College). The Director of Student Support Services was really receptive to our message and helping us pass out our film. She took five copies for the newly elected Senator of Ohio State University, Poli Sci professors and student government reps. We were also able to connect to another group called REAL MEN, a group similar to CUNY's Black Male Initiative.

SHON:  It was a good day today. I wasn't too sure about how many screenings we were going to get, but things turned out better than I thought. I know today that we made a success, and I know we will do even more on the other days. Mom, I love you.

TIDIANE:  Waking up early and coming to the airport was kind of interesting. I haven't done that for a long time. Knowing that I was getting on a plane to Ohio, so far the trip was going well. After going to different colleges and meeting different peoples, I'm realizing more and more that not everything is the same - colleges in New York City are different than those here. And even the ones we saw today in Ohio were so different. I'm very excited to be here and thanks to EVC for giving the opportunity to be here.

Journeys Through the Red, White & Blue

Members of the Educational Video Center (EVC) will be traveling to Ohio this week to screen the latest YO-TV release on youth voter participation. Please stay tuned for posts from three of the six producers of this film: Danny, Shon and Tidiane. A synopsis of the film is below and more information can be found on the website.

http://www.evc.org/news-flash/journeys-through-red-white-blue-brings-youth-polls

Journeys Through the Red, White, & Blue, a documentary produced by a team of New York City youth of color, is specifically designed to address the interests and concerns of their peers. Blending humor, plainspoken language, civics lessons, and interviews with friends, family members, local political leaders and community activists, this engaging documentary puts a face on “the youth vote.” Following the stories of Brian, Shon, and Tidiane, the film offers three unique explorations into the voting process: on the balance between local and national politics, on the legacy of African American voting rights, and on the rights and possibilities for immigrant participation.

Each story honestly struggles to answer the question “What is the value of my vote?” Because the stories are not adult-driven or preachy but are earnest inquires profiling these young men of color who were unsure of why they should get involved, this documentary is uniquely positioned to open up dialogue among youth audiences, who like the producers, have been confused and turned off to politics in the past, but may become informed, inspired, and galvanized to take action now.