President Obama (Creative Commons)

As many people have heard and seen on many news sites and Facebook and Twitter accounts, President Obama will be making an appearance at a Moving America Forward Rally this Friday at the USC campus at McCarthy Quad. 

Amid the buzz, I have two questions: Why a college campus? Is this President Obama’s way to get the young voters to the ballot box?

In the midst of midterm elections, Obama has been traveling throughout the country trying to rally supporters and increase voter turnout for the Democratic Party.

Obama’s presence at USC is a way to increase his slipping popularity. According to the Associated Press, an “mtvU poll released Wednesday found that 44 percent of students approve of the job President Obama is doing, which is significantly down from the 60 percent favorable rating he received in a poll taken in May last year.”

Is it possible that the first African-American U.S. President - one with high popularity among young voters at the start of his election - has actually gone down in popularity? Yes. 

Idema Espinosa, a 19-year-old student from the University of Houston-Downtown, said something that has been lingering a lot through young people’s minds: Where is this “change” Obama kept talking about?

"The economy has been the same,” she said “Nothing has changed, even with a new government in."

Since young voters have been discouraged about what Obama really can offer the country, it is only obvious that he will rally at a college campus to regain their trust and tell them why it is important to vote in the upcoming elections – young college students are also affected by political decisions. 

But there is also another angle to this story: many young people today are not getting involved in the midterm elections since it is not a historical event like Obama’s run for office. 

The younger generation - especially college students - is aware of the elections coming up, but it really doesn’t know the candidates running for certain offices or is just not interested in politics at the moment.

“Students are knowledgeable,” said Kedarious Colbert, 21, a student at Texas Southern University, “but it's not like when you had the first African-American president on the ballot."

Last week, Obama attended not one, but two town hall meetings in an effort to “gin up his base of 18- to 29-year-old-voters” at George Washington University on Tuesday and BET studios in Washington on Thursday for an MTV-based forum. 

At these two meetings, Obama took center stage, fielding questions through a variety of media aimed at engaging the youth voters of America where they supposedly "live" these days: Skype, Twitter and the Internet. But don’t be alarmed: there were still a few old-fashioned questions asked in person. 

On both evenings, in front of over 100 college students, Obama answered questions pertaining to the effect of corporate money on elections, the lack of bipartisanship in Washington, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and the White House actions towards it, the economy, illegal immigration and many more controversial issues.  It was a time where the young generation was heard. 

But there was one significant notion that Obama made in these two meetings and what he is aiming to do on Friday’s rally: to urge young people to take heart and vote in the upcoming Nov. 2 elections. 

The President has told college students - most recently at Bowie State University in Maryland - that he wants them “fired up” for these upcoming elections since it is an election that will say a lot about our future as a nation and, as a whole, we have “a lot at stake right now.”

In these last college visits, Obama stressed and emphasized issues that appealed to all young voters: to rein in college costs and improve the student loan process, and that the new health insurance plan will allow children to stay on the their parents’ health insurance until the age of 26. 

Will Friday’s visit to USC be another way for Obama to preach and tell students to be good citizens and vote? Yes. Will it be a way to show the college attendees his dedication to this country and for them to still have a reason to confide in him? Most likely.

In general, I feel that President Obama is making an intelligent move by going out and getting those votes, especially since the Democratic Party's support is slipping. 

As a young “voter,” is this going to make me want to vote? No. Am I going to go out and vote on Nov. 2? Hopefully.

As a college student with a full schedule and numerous hours of working, I will have difficulty clearing my schedule and making time to go and vote, but it does not mean I will not try.

As part of the young generation I have realized that I am the future, and to see change and a light at the end of the tunnel, I know that I have to get up out from behind my computer and start putting my thoughts into action. 

If I want to see change, I am going to have to go out and make it. I am not going to sit around and wait for politicians to battle it out, and I am definitely not going to allow someone to say that he is the one who persuaded me to go vote. No.

I want a better education system, a better healthcare system and a job waiting for me when I get out of college. I want the “American Dream” to actually be attainable, not just a fantasy. 

This Friday I will go out and listen to what my President, Barack Obama, has to say; but I am that one, intelligent 19-year-old voter who will go out and vote for a better tomorrow.  

To Reach Associate Editor Cynthia Balderas, click here. Follow her on Twitter @CVBalderas.

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