So, something happened to me today that I can't wrap my mind around. Just as some background, I attend North Carolina State University, located in Raleigh. I am a returning female student who just turned 32 last month.
I have been supporting Senator Obama pretty much since January. NC State has volunteers at the Brickyard (where most activist groups gather) nearly every day supporting the campaign, and they have been great. Whenever I pass them, I always tell them I'm voting for Obama and I thank them for their work.
Today, I saw something different.
I have to go by the Brickyard every day to class, and today I noticed a College Republicans table with a big McCain/Palin poster set up. This is the first time I've ever seen them set up in a way that suggested real money had been spent. Usually you just see a cheap "College Republicans" sign, and that's about it. Today, there was a bunch more stuff.
I just kind of chuckled to myself as I walked by, only vaguely noticing that they were getting college kids to sign up at their table. Well, just as I passed it I noticed another table that had one small sign that said "voter registration." I didn't really pay attention to it because I've been registered at my residence for more than 5 years. I did notice that a few kids were registering to vote. This is when it got weird.
Let me set the stage for you, visually. I am 32 years old. While I do not look that old, I certainly do look like an older woman when standing next to a bunch of college kids. I was wearing a brand new Cubs hat I bought yesterday, a rumpled Cubs t-shirts (go Cubs!), a rumpled pair of jeans and old, dirty tennis shoes. I had my earphones from my iPod in, and was jamming (on the inside) while walking by. With my backpack slung over one shoulder, I looked like I always do: an old slacker of a college student.
Well, as I was trying to make my way to the nearby building, avoiding the people that were milling around the voter registration table, an older lady (mid-50s) stopped in front of me and asked, "Are you registered to vote?" I was surprised by this for a few reasons:
- I was making sure I made no eye contact. In fact, I did not even see the woman until she stepped in front of me.
- I am clearly an older woman. The Obama volunteers have never asked me that. The most they will do when they see me is say, "You're registered, right?" then they make sure I'm voting for Senator Obama.
- I was walking around listening to my iPod. I have never had anyone walk up to me when I've had my earphones in before.
- I was surrounded by literally dozens of young students. She went out of her way to stop in front of me? Why?
As I was in a hurry, I just smiled, told her I was, and started to walk away. I thought we were through. Apparently she had other ideas.
Before I could really take a step, she shifted over a bit and asked, "Are you registered here on campus?" She took me completely off-guard with this question as no one from the Obama campaign had ever asked this. I took off my earphones and told her I have a house in Raleigh, and shifted again to move on. She stopped me again and asked if I lived there for the majority of the year.
At this point, I was completely confused. I must have just looked at her like she was crazy. I told her that I've lived here for years, and she then nodded and got out of my way.
When I came out of the building a little over an hour later, that same lady was holding up a propaganda-laden newspaper deriding Senator Obama.
Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry that I did not realize until after I got to my car that there was something not quite right about what she asked me.
- Why would she care about whether or not I lived at my residence in Raleigh for most of the year?
- Why on earth would she take one look at someone my age and a) Ask if I'm registered and then b) ask if I'm registered to vote on campus?
- Why on earth would the voter registration table try to keep itself separate from the Republican table when it was obvious they were from the same organization?