A surprise visitor came to Sinclair on Sept. 30 to rally students to vote early.
Nate Parker, actor in films including Pride and The Great Debaters, visited Sinclair to take students to polls. Parker walked through the library, with a host of students behind him, trying to persuade students to follow him to the Montgomery County Administration Building where the polls were open.
This was the second stop on his one-day tour of Ohio campuses that included, University of Cincinnati, Central State University, Wilberforce University and Ohio State University.
Parker said his reason for visiting Ohio is because of the importance that Ohio may have in the upcoming presidential election.
“Ohio is a battleground state,” said Parker.
Even though there were a number of students that did go vote, Parker still feels that people don’t understand how important this election is.
“These young kids don’t understand the velocity of this election, they don’t understand that it’s not just about 2008, this is about 2020 and 2040; this is gonna affect our kids, our kids, kids, and their kids, this decision, right here,” said Parker.
Outside of the administration building Parker talked about the state of the economy, the community, and why he’s voting for Senator Barack Obama.
“I’m not voting for Obama because he’s black,” said Parker, “I don’t care if he was green, at the end of the day we need somebody to come in and say, ‘you know what, look at our image abroad and how bad it is, look at this war and ten billion dollars we’re spending, look at the money we’re borrowing from China to support our country.”
Parker feels that even if Obama loses the election he has a struck a chord with those who come from similar backgrounds and that Obama gives people hope.
He also stated that even with the hope that Obama provides, action is necessary to provoke change.
“He [Obama] does represent hope, but what people have to understand, change and hope require action. We can have all the momentum in the world, everyone can be like, ‘Obama’ chanting and showing up, but if there not coming in here to vote, then it’s all for nothing,” said Parker.