President Barack Obama’s appearance at USC Friday was what many experts and political student activists believed to be an essential part of the Democratic strategy for this midterm election.

“The purpose of today’s rally was to get out the vote,” said Ange-Marie Hancock, an associate professor of political science at USC. “Part of the reason why he chose USC as opposed to other campuses is because of its central location in relation to key voter groups like Latinos, African-Americans, and youth voters.”

Jonathan Brebner, president of the USC College Democrats, said strategy is centered on combating historically lower voter turnout rate in midterm elections by energizing the Democratic base and reaching out to critical groups like youth voters and Latinos.

“One of the biggest things that happens is that the youth vote tends to drop and I think that is largely why Clinton came here and Obama is here. They are trying to address that voting bloc that otherwise might not go to the polls,” said Brebner.

“Minorities tend to be more disenfranchised and less served by the political system, so those who tend to vote democratically but feel a little bit disillusioned with how things are going, feel like they don’t need to go to the polls.”

Ximena Velazquez , another member of the College Democrats, said today’s rally was a great way to reach out to both youth voters and Latinos.

“The democratic strategy is just getting people involved, seeing Obama speak, getting them really energized and riled up about hearing him, kind of meeting him, greeting him,” Velasquez said. “I know a lot of people are really appreciative of this opportunity so we just want influence of Obama speaking here. Hopefully that will influence people to vote.”

Hancock agreed that Democrats needed Obama’s presence in Southern California to reach out to minorities and younger demographics.

“The Democrats were hoping that the rally would get these voter groups to turn out,” she said.

Obama rallied the youth vote to historic levels during his 2008 presidential campaign, and now many Democratic supporters are hoping his presence at USC, and universities across the country, will be just as effective in getting college students to the polls.

“He has this ability to fire up those who are younger ... He has a very unique ability just in his demeanor and the way he speaks,” said Brebner.

With less than two weeks until the election, Californians are no longer able to register to vote, and some said many of those who have already hold definite opinions about the candidates. Brebner and Velazquez both said the goal of Friday’s rally was to make sure voters will turn out on Nov. 2.

Other political activists at USC said there are many issues that matter to voters, but education is one issue that will get two of the most important targets – Latino and youth voters – to cast their ballots.

“There needs to be reform,” said Carlos Hernandez, executive director of USC’s Latino Student Assembly.

“The reason why education is important to Latinos goes beyond the controversies behind the Dream Act,” he said. “The youth is also its own target within the Latino demographic, making the Latino vote even more influential.”

Jason Duong, executive director of USC’s Political Student Assembly, said the issue over education isn’t exclusive to Latinos, however.
“Education is a major issue for the youth as well,” Duong said.  “Students in public schools like the UC systems have been very frustrated with their tuition hikes ... It’s definitely a huge economic burden [for them].”

And while the issues are certainly a key part of the campaign trail, Brebner said the top priority is to get voters excited.

“It’s about getting people energized for it, not necessarily talking about new things in regard to the issues, people have been talking about the issues,” said Brebner. “So at this point ... you just have to get the voters that you want out to the polls.”