Happy birthday, voting rights

Headlining the event was Adam Werbach, the 23 year-old president of the Sierra Club, who spoke before CNN television cameras and an excited Yale crowd in Linsley-Chittenden Hall. Although the event was moved indoors due to rain, the enthusiasm of those who attended was unmistakable. Werbach spoke of the importance of student activism and refuted the notion that such political acitvism no longer resulted in real achievements.

Political science professor Rogers Smith complemented the activist tone of Werbach with a historical account of activism, telling the crowd about his own experiences while petitioning for the 26th Amendment.

The day's events were bracketed by a large voter registration drive held on Cross Campus and were duplicated at colleges across the country as part of National Student Voter Education Day. Yale's event was organized by the Yale College Council, Greencorps, and several other groups.

--Michael Burstein