John Cho and Kal Penn, known for their portrayal of the title characters in the “Harold and Kumar” movies stopped in Talley Student Union on Tuesday to spread awareness for the importance of early voting for college students.
The duo also dropped by to advocate on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. They were joined by North Carolina State Senator Jay Chaudhuri, who spoke about the need for an active voter participation in order to elect Clinton as president.
“Hillary Clinton’s election is not given, we’re going to have to earn it,” Chaudhuri said. “The way we earn it is by making sure we get the vote out.”
Penn, who is well known for his role on “House” and his portrayal of Kumar, is not a newcomer to the campaign trail, as he was an advocate for President Barack Obama’s first election in 2008. Penn said he decided to do the same for Clinton because the rhetoric coming from the Trump campaign regarding issues like marriage equality, health care coverage and affordable education have concerned him.
“The realization that made me want to get involved again was that Secretary Clinton wanted to expand all these programs, make sure they covered more people and find a way to pay for them that makes sense,” Penn said. “Mr. Trump seems to be running with all of his republican friends on the promise of repealing all these things. No more marriage equality, no more staying on your parent’s health care, and no more Pell Grants to make college more affordable.”
Anna Flanagan, a freshman studying communication, is an active member of the Coordinated Campaign within the North Carolina Democratic Party and had the role of introducing Cho and Penn to the crowd. Flanagan said that it was a great honor.
“I’ve been a big fan of Kal Penn for a long time now, so it’s really cool getting to meet him in person,” Flanagan said. “I think it’s great that these two are using the platforms they have for good.”
Penn also said that it was important for them to get to North Carolina to speak about the upcoming election because it is currently a battleground state that will have a major role in deciding which candidate wins. Building off that statement, Cho said that he saw this upcoming election as extremely historic.
“Young people represent an interesting voting bloc,” Cho said. “You’re really privileged to be in a position to change the course of our nation’s history.”
While Penn has previous experience in campaigns, it was Cho’s initiative that ultimately brought the two out to show their support for Clinton. Cho said that he reached out to Penn after watching the candidates’ performances in the first debate. As the son of immigrants from Korea, Cho said he likes to imagine that America can still offer an allure to people who wish to find a new life.
“I think about the America that [my grandfather] was looking towards,” Cho said. “To me, it was a beacon to him. It represented freedom and opportunity and my father, I believe, built upon that. When he was an adult he took us to the United States. He came here with a vision of America in mind. That vision of America, the city on the hill, is in jeopardy like no other time in history.”
Early voting in North Carolina begins on Thursday. Voter registration information and polling place locations can be found at ncsbe.gov.
John Cho and Kal Penn speak in Talley Student Union on Tuesday to advocate early voting in North Carolina. The pair discussed the importance of voting while campaigning for Hillary Clinton.
