What is Civic Enagement??You know it’s going to be a good day when the Rock the Vote staff says, “I commend you all for coming out this early. Especially considering the night some of you probably had. However, the Halloween Party aftereffects were not present when I arose early Sunday morning to participate in Rock the Vote, "Trick or Vote" in Philadelphia, PA. It's all a part of the many civic engagment opportunites available here at The Washington Center. Students can choose various programs and foundations to complete their civic engagment, ranging from anti-female genital mutilation and Rock the Vote to Isreali-Palestinian peace, Make-A-Wish Foundation, etc. Today, I chose to volunteer with Rock the Vote even though my civic engagement project is focused on stopping female genital mutilation.

Let's Hit the Road! Rock the Vote!!

Unfortunately the various parties around D.C., and even at the RAF, haunted some patrons all night and well into the early afternoon. This trip consisted of Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, and a few members of her staff all ready and hyped. The “ice breaker” consisted of students telling about where they are from, what their costume was (if they had one), and an impromptu statement. Some costumes ranged from all 4 members of the A-team, my conservative cop, a zombie who represented black youth come back to life and my roommate as an angel. The ranges geographically went from, Arkansas and Alabama to Massachusetts and across the ocean to Korea and China. But the best part, at this point, was the awesome impromptu statements! Mine: “I am not hung over!! (Because I did/do not drink)” One member of the A-Team, Mr. T, with a British accent barely lifted his head and said, “I am apocalyptically hung over and uhh I pity the fool who don’t vote.” One of the costume-less students, “I am so hung over, I don’t, I don’t even know. I’m going to sleep on the way to Philly.” Some of the costumes went from nil to “I stole this mask from my roommate.” So, the trip there was very peaceful, with over half of the students asleep while the rest of us watched, “Little Miss Sunshine”.  I took some pictures and enjoyed the scenery as our bus weaved in and out of various Eastern States.

Here is a picture of the bus!

Here is a picture of the Milard Tydings Memorial Bridge after we went through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel!

As we entered Delaware one of the Rock the Vote Staff came over the PA and said, “We are now entering the state of Delaware the home state of Vice President Joe Biden and a top political race. Remember…. ‘I am not a witch. I’m you.’” I’m pretty sure even the barely awake students laughed.

Next came Pennsylvania, we were finally there!

The day consisted of knocking on doors marked on a list. All people on the list were supposed to be under 30. Unfortunately, I must have missed that part. Hyeji and I knocked on ALL doors, and when we came back to the Marathon Bar and Grill we were surprised at how many people weren’t there yet! Call us overachievers! So, we ate and played games. I won two free movie tickets to Regal Theatre and a limited edition Inauguration Poster), 3 people won free shoes by New Balance that would be shipped to them, and others won signed T-Shirts from various bands. So, it was great day. Here are some various photos from the trip!!

The A-Team, "The A-Team never leaves anyone behind!"

Heather Smith, President of Rock the Vote pulling from the Trick or Vote bag! "(Name of Person) Come on down and spin the wheel!!

"More Power, Less Fear! Rock the Vote!!"

What Have We Learned?So, what does this say about TWC students? Coming out early in the morning from a night where most people, especially young adults, are calling it a night and stumbling home from that "Rockin' Party At Adams Morgan" (though I doubt anything that has the word, "Rockin'" in it truly is) lets you know that these students are engaged civically on a high level. Though Rock the Vote is not my civic engagment project, I still wanted to be a part of this awesome experience while I am so far away from home. All of students, even the ones recovering, were actively excited about going out in Philly to inform citizens about their polling station and give them non-biased information about candidates while encouraging them to go out and vote. TWC students don't just go beyond the call of civic engagement. We ARE civic engagment. Civic engagement is taking your passion and putting it into action in a way that takes you past what you should do to what you can do. It is the passion behind the work, that deep understanding of a certain issue that propels you to be better and work harder even for a goal that borders on impossible.  Thats why the TWC students that day in conjunction with a few volunteers knocked on 488 doors, with a probability of  237 people turning out to go vote this past Tuesday! Civic engagement in motion.