Cannon, Penn to visit Kent State, endorse Obama
Two celebrities will be making a stop on campus this week to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president.
Actor and musician Nick Cannon and actor Kal Penn will speak at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Kiva.
Penn is best known for his roles in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder and the television show “House M.D.” Cannon is a rapper, comedian and actor who has had roles in films such as Bobby and Drumline.
Steve Dunwoody, a Kent State alumnus and field organizer for the Obama campaign, made the announcement at a meeting with the Kent State chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management Friday. About 25 students, staff and community members attended the meeting where the primary goal was to get presidential candidates, including Obama to campus.
“Getting Sen. Obama to (Kent State) is a difficult task but not impossible,” Dunwoody said.
Dunwoody made no promises Obama would stop at Kent State, but he did say he would like to see that happen.
“He’ll be traveling all over the state,” Dunwoody said. “We hope he’ll be able to show up in as many places as possible.”
The Kent State chapter of SHRM sponsored the meeting after its national organization announced it is supporting campaign coverage and encouraging students to vote, said Cathy DuBois, faculty adviser for the Kent State chapter.
“As a professor, the lax interest of students in politics has saddened me greatly,” she said.
Andrew Shears, a doctoral candidate in geography, attended the meeting and said he had mixed feelings about it.
“I really don’t think Kent State has any more chance at securing an Obama rally than it did before the meeting,” he said, adding that on the other hand, “it gave people at Kent who support Barack a chance to meet each other, put names with faces and otherwise network.”
Ideas for rallying Obama support were also discussed at the meeting.
Contact College of Business reporter Andrea Sinclair at [email protected].