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ATLANTA — After the collegiate calm of Georgia Tech — cheerful but dignified — the eclectic action at the Georgia State University quad was just what I needed to wake up after an early morning stalking voters at the polls. (And confession time: I ate way too many biscuits.)
This campus hot spot is where students congregate every Tuesday and Thursday from 12 to 1 p.m. (no one has classes then) to peep the Greeks "strollin'" and various student organizations promoting their causes.
First stop in the coed chaos was a chat with Kendra Kelly, a 22-year-old double major in political science and journalism, who also happens to be the president of the Young Democrats at GSU. She was not content to take a backseat on the GOP's Super Tuesday, during which 419 delegates are up for grabs in 10 states among the four candidates still in the hunt. And she wasn't onboard with trying to manipulate the vote by taking advantage of Georgia's open primary and casting a ballot for the Republican she thinks is most likely to lose to President Obama in November. Instead, she and her crew of boisterous politicas told MTV's Power of 12 that they were opting to steal the Republican thunder in a more proactive way.
"We decided instead of strategizing our votes, because we have an open primary, what's the best thing to do? Register voters!" she said. "And furthermore, get their information so we can keep up with them ... and keep them informed, so when it comes time to vote in November, they vote on our side."
Right next door to the rowdy Young Dems voter drive, we found 23-year-old Alison Fox from Students for Sensible Drug Policy, who is flexing her political muscle by abstaining from today's primary, despite the fact that she applauds Libertarian Congressman Ron Paul's approach to legalizing marijuana. (This seems to be a rather popular stance of his among college students. Just sayin'.)
"I believe that right now I'm not gonna vote for any of the Republican candidates only because, unfortunately, I believe that money has too much to say in the candidacy rather than views and policy," she said.
Considering she also told us how her state's front-runner, former Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich, grossed out her fellow activists when they attended one of his recent rallies, it doesn't look like anyone from SSDP will be adding to Gingrich's delegate count today.
Read more on MTV.com
CORRECTION: The headline previously referred to Georgia Tech Democrats, it has been changed to reference Georgia College Democrats.