Common to headline pre-election bash

USG plans to host concert after VoteSCount, which registered just under 5,000 students.

Ariel Edwards-Levy

Brandon Hui | Daily Trojan

The sprint · Students from organizations across campus came together to register student voters on the last day of a three-month-long registration drive. Monday was also the final day to register in California.

Hip-hop artist and actor Common will headline a concert Oct. 30 encouraging students to vote in the November election, Undergraduate Student Government announced Monday night.

The VoteSCount Concert, which will be held at 8 p.m. in McCarthy Quad, will also feature New Orleans hip-hop duo The Knux.

The concert marks the culmination of a campus voter registration effort by a coalition of student groups including USG, CalPIRG, Students for Barack Obama, Students for John McCain, USC College Democrats, USC College Republicans, the Unruh Institute of Politics and the Political Student Assembly.

The drive aimed to register 6,000 students, but fell short of the goal with 4,772 registrants as of Saturday. The final numbers are expected to come in at about 5,000, said Samantha Foley, USG director of campus affairs.

“The purpose of the concert is to bring students out in an entertainment setting, but at the same time make sure they get the message that now that we’ve gotten some 5,000 students registered, it’s time for them to do their duty and go out and vote,” she said.

Common is a two-time Grammy winner and has appeared in films including “Smoking Aces” and “American Gangster.”

An outspoken advocate of Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, he appeared in the music video “Yes We Can” in support of the candidate.

And although USG has asked Common to refrain from partisan behavior at the concert, his activism is part of the reason he was chosen, Foley said.

But USG officials emphasized that the concert is not a platform for any one political agenda, and that neither Common nor any other performer will use the event for partisan purposes.

The VoteSCount concert is funded by $20,000 from USG, as well as contributions from the Program Board Concerts Committee and the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics. Student admission will be free.

The event aims to build enthusiasm for the Nov. 4 presidential election, said Nelson Chen, a senior majoring in environmental studies and political science and the president of USC CalPIRG.

“I think that people are already motivated to vote this time,” he said. “It’s just how coordinated and how easy we can make it for everyone. The concert is just a cherry on top, to get people excited.”