Georgia State Students’ Design Work Featured on CNN

At first glance, the portraits appear to be sketches of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. But look closer and each line and curve is a letter, a word, a sentence.

Students in Stan Anderson’s advanced typography class at Georgia State were approached by CNN to create typographical portraits of the presidential candidates using each candidate’s own words and platforms. The works were then posted at http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/typography.irpt/index.html.

“I thought a nonpartisan type of political assignment would be terrific since it would allow the designers to actually research all six official presidential candidates running this year,” Anderson said. “I’m sure the students’ own views did play into their choices for their portraits, but they were very respectful of how they depicted the candidates.”

Each student created two portraits, choosing from the candidates running for president. While Obama and McCain were the most popular choices, students also depicted Bob Barr, Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney.

“No one was trying to sway another on how to vote or whom to vote for during this election,” Anderson said. “Words are powerful, and the use of the candidates’ own words made the assignment even more so.”

Last year, another of Anderson’s classes collaborated with CNN, presenting design work for the network’s League of First-Time Voters project. The assignments have been a way for Georgia State students to get real-world design experience, he said. Anderson came to Georgia State in 2001, after leaving CNN Headline News as Director of Design for the network.

“This year’s junior class of graphic design majors is some of the best and brightest — and creative — that I have ever seen,” he said. “Their keen sense of who they are and where they are in their chosen profession is remarkable. Each come to the projects with their own creative voice, and that translates into some of the most innovative and inspiring work I’ve ever seen. My students continue to inspire me.”

-----
Editor's Note: This artwork is fantastic. It's impressive to see how words can literally draw a picture.

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page

Usher Raymond's National 'I Can't But You Can' Voter Registration Campaign

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year, in an effort to mobilize voters in this historic presidential election, Usher launched the "I Can't But You Can" voter registration campaign geared towards youth ages 17 and under. This nationwide campaign began this summer in Atlanta with 350 youth registering nearly 1,000 new voters. The Campaign will be expanded to 8 cities simultaneously on September 27th and is projected to educate more than 4,000 youth and register 17,000 new voters nationally.

In conjunction with ServiceNation's Day of Action (www.servicenation.org), the "I Can't But You Can" Campaign will host voter registration rallies and drives in cities across the US on September 27th. Participating cities include: Atlanta, Boston, Kansas City (KS), Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, New Orleans and Oakland. At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the USC Marching Band will perform, MTV's Quddus will serve as Emcee for the Voter Registration Rally while KIIS-FM's DJ Drew will get the crowd pumping. All across the nation, we're engaging youth to make certain their voices are heard on Election Day!

"This is such a historic election that I wanted to find a way to give youth 17 and under a voice," says Usher. "I wanted young people to understand, that this election does impact their life. It affects the type of education they receive, if they'll receive healthcare when they're sick and if they'll have help getting into college."

As Youth Chair of ServiceNation, Usher recently hosted 100 Exceptional Young Leaders from across the country for a forum on the importance of Service and Leadership at the ServiceNation Summit in New York City. At this bi-partisan summit, Usher announced his Day of Action Contest to encourage youth to engage in service and reward their participation in the Day of Action.

Usher's Day of Action Contest

As part of SerivceNation's Day of Action, youth who can inspire 100 hours of service during ServiceNation's Sept 27 Day Of Action (i.e. 20 people doing 5 hours each, or 50 people doing 2 hours each) AND can get 100 signatures on ServiceNation's Declaration of Service, are eligible for the drawing. There will be two lucky winners who receive airfare for two, hotel for two nights and two VIP tickets to Usher's Washington, DC Concert on November 4 (National Election Day!) Visit www.servicenation.org for more details.

We'd like to acknowledge Russell Athletic as our Lead Sponsor for the "I Can't But You Can" National Voter Registration Campaign.

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page

Emory: Presidential Debates: Expect Talking Points, Gaffe Avoidance

The first in a series of Presidential debates is set for Friday, giving the American public an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama. Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz weighs in on what to expect.

"The debates are overrated in terms of their impact on the electorate. Polling data the past few decades has shown that the net impact is very small, only a couple of points," says Abramowitz, a renowned expert on polling, national politics and elections.

"Generally people react to debates along party lines and already have their minds made up," Abramowitz says. "Undecided voters are less like to watch the debates to begin with, and even those who do are generally not influenced by them very much." In 2004, Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry was perceived as the winner of all three debates, "but that didn't help him much," he says.

"I wouldn't expect or look for anything dramatic," says Abramowitz, noting the intensive preparation the candidates are undergoing. "Both candidates will stick to their talking points, so we're not likely to hear anything new or different, although with the state of the economy they're like to stray off course from talking about foreign policy."

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page

Emory's Political Scientists Comment on Upcoming Election

The 2008 election season now kicks into high gear with the coming announcements of vice-presidential picks, followed by the Democratic and Republican conventions. Renowned Emory University political scientists Merle Black and Alan Abramowitz take a look ahead at what voters can expect as Senators Barack Obama and John McCain head in to the final heats of an historic campaign.

Don't Trust the Polls Just Yet

"I wouldn't put much weight at all on the polls right now," says Abramowitz, the Alben W. Barkley Professor of Political Science. "Polls are not a good predictor until we're past the conventions and into the main part of the campaign. You should see a bump in the polls for both candidates after their conventions." Start watching the polls a week or two after the Republican convention, he says.

Red States, Blue States

Black sees the electoral map looking very similar to 2004, with the Northeast and the Pacific coast solidly Democratic, and the South still going to the Republicans. "Obama has the best chance of turning over Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada," says Black, the Asa G. Candler Professor of Politics and Government.

Abramowitz expects more of a shift in potential battleground states. "Obama seems to have almost all of the states Kerry won in 2004 locked up. That's not true on the Republican side, which puts states like Virginia, Ohio, New Mexico, Colorado, Indiana, Montana, Nevada and even Alaska into play," he says.

"The polls also don’t reflect the tremendous amount of resources the campaigns are deploying in battleground states, and in this case, the Obama campaign is way ahead of McCain's," Abramowitz says. "They're putting a lot of money into the ground game to register people to vote and get out the vote. If Obama can get his supporters out to the polls, he'll win."

The Conventions and the VPs

Both Abramowitz and Black say that Obama's and McCain's choice of running mates is not nearly as important as it seems. People vote first and foremost for a president, so unless a highly unusual nominee is picked, that person tends to not have much impact on the outcome of the election.

The conventions, on the other hand, provide "the best opportunities for both candidates to shape their images. It's a clear shot at a very large audience. Both parties want to put on the best show possible," Abramowitz says.

Black cautions that for the Democrats, "there is a danger for Obama to act like he has already won, and coming on too much like a celebrity, especially given the setting for his speech in a football stadium. Some voters like that, some don't. What's interesting is that in a year where the Democrats appeared poised to win everything, the presidential race is still tight. Presidential politics essentially comes down to voters looking at two individuals and choosing one. It's a very personal preference, more so than other elections."

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
www.fayettefrontpage.com