The lead actors of the Harold and Kumar movies, John Cho and Kal Penn, stopped by Boulder on Friday to speak about this year’s election and the Obama campaign.
Cho and Penn spoke at the Obama for America office located next to The Sink about their involvement with the campaign. The event began at 5 p.m., and the two spent some time inside the office before going out to sign up campaign volunteers and talk to students about voting.
John Cho and Kal Penn sign people up to vote outside the Obama for America office on The Hill Friday afternoon. (CU Independent/Bethany Morris)
The duo, who brought both star power and political experience, were invited to Boulder by Colorado’s Obama for America organization and are now official spokesmen for the Obama campaign. In 2009, Penn accepted the position of Associate Director of the White House Office for Public Engagement, making the change from acting to politics.
Jessica Lawson, an 18-year-old freshman and international affairs major, said that she came to the event to learn more about what the campaign climate is like in Boulder.
“We are just checking it out, we want to know what is going on in the community,” Lawson said.
Two local 15-year-olds Jack Lachance and Nick Morrisy came to catch a glimpse of the celebrities and show their support for the President’s campaign.
“We really came to see Harold and Kumar,” Lachance said.
“Yeah, we came to see them, but we also support what Obama is doing,” Morrissy said.
According to the New York Times electoral map, Colorado is one of eight swing states that will decide the outcome of this year’s election and the political agenda for the next four years.
Penn told the crowd that as long as Obama’s campaign gets support from Colorado citizens, like those in Boulder, the president will win the state in the election.
“We believe that the President is going to take the state of Colorado,” Penn said. “We have to come out, register to vote and help out.”
Penn, appealing to his CU-heavy audience, emphasized the importance of young voters, especially when it came to issues like affordable education.
“I got to see him fighting for young people,” Penn said. “If you are a young Republican or Democrat, we can all agree with these issues [of education, healthcare]. I don’t think a lot of people really realize how firmly he stands up for young people.”
Cho said that the young vote would really make the difference in both in winning Colorado and the whole election.
“It was young people who gave us our livelihood and our homes,” Cho said. “You guys will deliver, Colorado, and get our nation continuing in the direction it’s going.”
Contact CU Independent Breaking News Editor Bethany Morris at Bethany.morris@colorado.edu.
