On Sept. 12, the Mahogany Room was transformed into a wrestling ring, where voting issues were given the "smackdown."

The "Smackdown Your Vote" rally was Sacred Heart's effort to attract students to the political world by encouraging them to vote and to be interested in the future of government.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstars Chris Nowinski and Shelton Benjamin were the featured speakers at the rally. Nowinski and Benjamin stressed the importance of individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 voting in upcoming elections.

Benjamin finds that he shares a more similar mindset to the younger generation of adults as opposed to an older generation, such as the baby-boomers, when it comes to politics.

"There is much more that I have in common with say, a thirty-year old, as opposed to a sixty-five year old man," said Benjamin.

Nowinski and Benjamin have traveled to universities across the nation to promote voting and to lay the "smackdown" on silence pertaining to political issues affecting the future of college students.

Each wrestler emphasized that it is especially important for young adults to have their voices heard and to better understand political campaigns. Young adults are crucial in making important decisions that determine the future.

The Smackdown to Vote rally drew a large crowd. Individuals political parties attended the rally to hear the wrestler's attitude towards voting.

"It's important for the younger generation to control their own destiny and to do so require the act of voting," said Dr. Gary Rose, Sacred Heart Political Science professor. "Why let older generations determine the fate of young persons?"

Rose also commented that there is a type of mean-spiritedness developing in today's political system and that civility restored to politics would be most advantageous to the younger population.

"What would be most beneficial to our way of life would be unity among all people, not just our young adults as there are countless social, environmental, moral, and ethical issues which have divided the people of America," said Rose. "Divisions separate [us] and in turn, many potential voices are now voiceless."

Amanda Plakias, junior, Orange, found the Smackdown rally to be effective in properly addressing voting issues in relations to the student body.

"The set-up was very welcoming," said Plakias. "Sacred Heart did a wonderful job of spreading the political message by including two WWE superstars in the rally.

"[Nowinski and Benjamin] were very lively and not the typical type of people you would expect to run into with politicians. It made me appreciate the WWE industry more so overall I feel it was a positive and very rewarding experience."

Plakias felt that the Smackdown Your Vote rally makes her want to vote because she finds that information is knowledge and knowledge is power.

But was it more effective to have Christopher Nowinski and Shelton Benjamin speak instead of political figures like Al Gore and Rick Santorum?

Individuals in the SHU community like Plakias and Rose, feel that in a college setting, these WWE stars exert a wider range of influence because a younger audience can better relate to their age and aspects of their lives.

"Sports celebrities, like actors, command a great deal of attention today and young persons do listen to what they have to say about politics," said Rose. "Harnessing the efforts of wrestling celebrities, or other celebrities for that matter, can only be viewed as an advantage with regard to mobilizing political interest among young persons."

Even though the Smackdown Your Vote event attracted an audience made up of more political representatives than younger individuals interested in upcoming November elections, students were open to listening to what the wrestlers and other speakers had to say.

Some individuals registered to vote right after the rally which means new voices in the political arena.

Victory for Nowinski and Benjamin. Next stop, the wrestling ring.

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