Photo by Audrey McCrone
Hollywood stars Kal Penn (left) and Eric Balfour urge students to support
Sen. Barack Obama on Feb. 20.
Celebrities campaign for Obama
By Kelly Martin
In his campaign for Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama promises “a change we can believe in.” To help drive home that message, actors and avid Obama supporters Kal Penn and Eric Balfour came to Cleveland State on Feb. 20 to rally student support for their candidate.
Penn and Balfour talked to students in the University Center’s Orange Lounge not only about why they support Obama, but about how important it is for America’s youth to be informed about what is going on in this election.
Balfour, who starred in the 2003 remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and has also had roles in popular T.V. shows like “24” and “The O.C.,” reminisced about his childhood when his grandfather told him how proud he was to be an American.
But Balfour said he is not proud with the political and economical situations in America.
“I am not proud of who represents me as an American,” Balfour said. “I am not proud that there’s a war going on, and millions of people stand in line for iPhones but we can’t get people to protest the War in Iraq.” However, Balfour feels that pride that his grandfather felt when he thinks about what Obama stands for and what he has to offer for the future of America. He also reminded students of the importance of filling out absentee ballots, reminding the youth of America that nothing will happen without their help. Penn, known for his starring role in “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” and more recently his role in the successful TV show “House,” admitted that he has never been a political guy. But he was disenchanted with the state of the United States when a friend was forced to decide to work minimum wage or go to Iraq to drive a truck for $90,000 a year in order to save money for college.
Obama first caught Penn’s attention at the 2004 National Democratic Convention, when he commented that after 9/11, Americans shouldn’t be focused on blue vs. red states. Instead, they should focus on being united as Americans.
Penn feels that Obama is the best choice for president because he wants to aid people in their pursuit of higher education, he has experience with providing health care to people who can’t afford it, and because he is the only candidate who has opposed the Iraq war from the beginning.
Erica Woolfolk, a CSU sophomore, was excited that Balfour and Penn visited CSU.
“I hope people will look past the fact that they are celebrities and look at them as Americans who want to see change,” Woolfolk said.
Penn has been volunteering with the Obama campaign since the Iowa Caucus, and was able to share several personal anecdotes.
One inspirational experience occurred when he was in the Obama volunteer office in Iowa with about 150 other volunteers, getting ready to close up for the night. A 70-year-old man walked in and was introduced as the head of the Iowa Farmers Union. He told the volunteers that every four years, politicians come to Iowa and make promises to farmers. Once all the fuss of the caucus was over, the politicians left and the promises remained unfulfilled. He then told the volunteers to look up the definition of the words “politician” and “statesman”, and remarked that meeting Obama was the first time he had the chance to meet a statesmen. Mike Russell, who is the membership coordinator for the Students for Obama chapter at Cleveland State, said that the part of the speeches that most to him was Penn’s last story about a teary-eyed moment Obama had with a group of his volunteers after winning the Iowa caucus. He felt that showed Obama in a sincere moment and it reiterates that Obama genuinely believes in what he says.
Another student, Stephen Furlow-Munn, was inspired by both speeches, and said that he had been an Obama supporter since day one.
He feels Obama is the best candidate because his goals for America “all center on the things that are important to me, especially education and the War in Iraq,” Furlow-Minn said.
Steven Jaworski contributed to this report.
