http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/democratic-groups-push-for-young-voter-turnout  02/18/2008 http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/democratic-groups-push-for-young-voter-turnout Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:41:25 -0500 http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/pizza-and-jazz-oberlins-community-service-fair Pizza and Jazz: Oberlin's Community Service Fair http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/pizza-and-jazz-oberlins-community-service-fair Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:41:25 -0500 http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/card-firms-lure-students-experts-urge-crackdown Sarah Comtois, a senior at the University of http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/card-firms-lure-students-experts-urge-crackdown Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:41:25 -0500 http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/law-impedes-student-votes Students opened their OCMR mailboxes last week to find yet another reminder to vote in the upcoming Nov. 7 election: a voter registration form accompanied by an absentee application form.This is but one example of the November Committee campaign’s work.  The committee is a coalition of student activist groups encouraging students and faculty to vote with absentee ballots in the upcoming Nov. 7 general election. Absentee voting was proposed in order to circumvent a new Ohio law requiring that all voters show proof of identity and Ohio residency at the polls.The Ohio PIRG student chapter, OC Democrats and OC ACLU have spent the past few weeks passing out forms, tabling at Wilder, canvassing and lit-dropping, and gaining satisfaction from being able to drive completed voter registration forms and absentee ballot request forms to the Lorain County Board of Elections.“I’ve been driving to the Board of Elections office about every other day for the past two weeks and bring in more than 100 registrations each time,” said Deborah Slosberg, campus organizer for the OPIRG Oberlin College student chapter. “As of today, we have collected over 700 voter registration forms.”The November Committee was founded by student senator and College junor Colin Koffel last semester as a method of joining forces with various campus “get out the vote” groups. The committee’s long-term focus is to make voting more convenient for students. In keeping with this goal, the committee is now working to help shed public light on the new Ohio law HB-3, passed in Feb. 2006.The controversial section of HB-3 that has inspired committee action requires that Ohio voters now provide proof of identity and residence at the polls.“I suspect that the law was designed to depress voter turnout here and in other key Democratic constituencies by making voting unnecessarily difficult,” said college junior, Brian Pugh, co-chair of the OC Dems. “However, given the passion and ingenuity of Oberlin students, I hope that Ohio’s partisan election authorities will be disappointed.”Section 3501.19 of HB-3 explains that acceptable forms of identification include a valid Ohio driver’s license or Ohio identification card, a valid military ID card or government document that shows the voter’s name and current address (such as a paycheck) or a copy of a current utility bill or bank statement.An OCMR mailing address does not satisfy the requirements of “current address,” which must be a residential address, registered with the Board of Elections.“[The November Committee] pushed absentee voting because that circumvents the voter ID requirement,” said Koffel. “[But] it will take the fun and community out of voting.”Slosberg explained that when addressing larger groups of students she recommends that they change the address to which their bank statements are sent to their OCMR number, followed by the address of the dorm that they are living in, and then use the statement as proof of residency.However, as this is a complicated scenario to explain many times to many students on an individual basis, Slosberg makes it easier: “Absentees are your best way to go. Do absentee.” Sophomore Rebecca Eiseman, member of OPIRG, and a prime organizer of the OCMR pamphleting and dorm-canvassing projects, commented on her “getting out the vote” experience.“Having the one-on-one connection [during door-canvassing and tabling] makes a world of difference,” said Eiseman. “People are used to being flyered at and it doesn’t really hit them. But if someone is addressed personally, they have to be proactive and take initiative.”However, she expressed concern that despite all of OPIRG’s campaigning, many students are still unaware of the new law’s restrictions and the necessity to vote absentee.“There is a decent percentage of the student body that thinks they are good to vote,” said Eiseman. “They don’t realize they have to re-register each time they move to a new address and that they have to send in an absentee ballot request form. Their right to vote at polls is pretty much non-existent.”Voters who do not provide one of the required documents at the polls can still vote with a provisional ballot, after providing the last four digits of their social security number. If a voter cannot provide a social security number, he or she must sign an affirmation swearing to his or her identity under penalty of election falsification, and may then cast a provisional ballot.“Voting provisionally may be the most problematic way to cast a vote,” said Pugh. “The provisional ballot requires four pages of forms and may be disqualified if there is the slightest mistake. In 2004 nearly a quarter of provisional ballots were thrown out.”Koffel noted that a voter might also be required to provide the Board of Elections with proof of his or her identity within 10 days after the election.The November Committee plans to resume dorm-canvassing after fall break, this time specifically for absentee request forms and ballots. OPIRG members also plan to gather committee representatives to be present at the local foods festival on Saturday, and organize a large last-minute voting event, involving free stamps, a few days before Election Day.“We’re trying to make the voting process as easy as possible for everyone,” assured Slosberg. http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/law-impedes-student-votes Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:41:25 -0500 http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/community-college-students-courted-as-potential-voters DAYTON, Ohio - At pizza parties and rock concerts, public interest groups are trying to turn hard-to-reach community college students into voters, encouraged by an increased turnout of young voters in 2004."For some reason, no one has figured out how to target millions and millions of young people who go to community colleges," said Ben Unger, field director of the Student Public Interest Research Groups, which plan to recruit student volunteers to sign up other students.About 11.6 million students - or 46 percent of college undergraduates - attend the 1,000 public community colleges in the United States.They are tougher to find, however, than students at traditional four-year colleges because they usually don't live on campus and some take only a class or two. Community college students also are a widely disparate group - from 18-year-old recent high school graduates to 30-something breadwinners - and it is not clear which party would benefit the most from their vote."We feel it's a really important pool of young students to dip into," said Dhira Dale, a project manager at the Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. "In 2004, we noticed that the efforts that were put forth to register young people and motivate young people really worked."About 47 percent of Americans 18-24 voted in 2004, up from 36 percent in 2000, according to the Census Bureau.At Hocking College in Nelsonville, students will be encouraged to register when they stop for free food at Pizza and Politics parties. Unregistered students from Lehigh Carbon Community College and Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania were sought out during a series of rock concerts.Registration tables have been set up outside the coffee shop at Pierce College in Los Angeles to catch students during class changes. Volunteers are competing to see who can register the most students, vying for prizes such as iPods and extra credit in political science classes.At Fullerton Community College in Los Angeles, organizers are in the classrooms handing out voter-registration cards and urging students to vote.Students arriving for fall classes at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore., will get a pitch to register if they show up for free hot dogs at a campus cookout."We're trying to get to students by bribing them with food," said Alejandro Juarez, campus organizer of Associated Students at Lane Community College.Community college students who haven't registered to vote cite lack of time and more pressing issues."I've thought about it, but that's about it," Christopher Lay said as he waited to register for classes at Sinclair Community College in Dayton.He and others said they would register on campus if they had the opportunity.Both Republicans and Democrats see votes on campuses for their causes.The College Democrats of America hopes to establish a chapter on every community college campus by 2008. The College Republican National Committee has 1,800 clubs nationwide, many at community colleges, said Paul Gourley, chairman."In the past, community colleges have been neglected," said LaKeisha Roberts, membership director of the College Democrats.Both candidates in Ohio's governor's race are campaigning at schools such as Sinclair Community College. Both pledge to make college more affordable.Political analysts differ on which party stands to gain the most from the community college vote.Herb Asher, political science professor at Ohio State University, said the Democrats probably have a slight advantage given that students as a group tend to tilt that way.Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University, sees it differently."My guess is it would be an even break, possibly shading over to the Republicans," he said.Lay, who works full time on an assembly line making water-testing equipment, said the most important issues for him are jobs and school funding. He was undecided who would get his vote."I have nieces that are going to start school," he said. "I would like the best for them."But even if students register, Baker said, they often don't vote because there are a variety of other things they would rather be doing."The youth vote is the great unfulfilled hope of American politics," he said. "Anybody who relies heavily on the youth vote is leaning on a very slender reed." http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/community-college-students-courted-as-potential-voters Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:41:25 -0500 http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/research-group-warns-parents-about-potentially-dangerous-toys CLEVELAND -- It's now the season to start searching for the perfect toy for your children – but how do you know if that toy is safe?NewsChannel5's Alicia Scicolone reported that a local trauma expert teamed up with the Ohio Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) to get the word out about dangerous toys.Dr. Walter Chwals, of Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, says he sees toy tragedy too often.And PIRG's Megan Foster says there are four main hazards parents need to look for.The first is choking. PIRG says some toys have a warning about a choking hazard, but others only show an age limit.The next hazard is strangulation. Foster says the Water Yo-Yo is a popular toy, but this year alone, more than 400 kids were hurt by the yo-yos."Parents have reported using knives, scissors, and in one case, even their teeth to actually cut the cord and save their kids from imminent strangulation," said Foster.All kids love toys that make loud noises, but experts say that prolonged exposure to sounds at 85 decibels or higher can result in hearing damage.For example, some toy guitars can go as high as 111 decibels.The most serious toy hazard is toxic toys. The chemical dibutyl phathales is commonly found in play cosmetic kits, especially nail polish.But phalates has been implicated in birth defects, reproductive problems, nerve system damage and other negative health effects.According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, last year more than 200,000 kids were rushed to the hospital because of toy-related injuries, and 11 children died.PIRG's reports have lead to more than 120 consumer product recalls. But its researchers have also found that in spite of their warnings, some toys are still on store shelves.For a list of potentially hazardous toys, go to PIRG's Web site. http://www.ohiopirgstudents.org/ohiopirg-in-the-news/ohiopirg-in-the-news/research-group-warns-parents-about-potentially-dangerous-toys Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:41:25 -0500