More than 100 students from the University of Portland and Roosevelt High School will canvass neighborhoods in the Portsmouth and St. Johns neighborhoods on Halloween afternoon, Saturday, Oct. 31, to register eligible residents to vote and encourage those already registered to participate in the democratic process.
Students will gather at 2:15 p.m. at the University of Portland's Pilot House for a brief voter registration training with the Bus Project, a Portland-based organization committed to youth voter mobilization.
Complementary hot chocolate will be served to participating students at the Fred Meyer store, 6850 North Lombard St.. Ladybug Organic Coffee Company, 8438 North Lombard St., will host a post-canvassing celebration at 5 p.m.
The initiative, known as 'No Tricks – Vote and Treat,' seeks to further empower North Portland residents' voice in city and county decisions that impact the peninsula community. It is being organized by University students from the School of Education's Foundations in Education course, and the Communication Studies department's Leadership & Persuasion class.
The effort is also an opportunity to promote the 'treat' aspect of the campaign: all canvassers and special friends receive free admission to Roosevelt's annual Homecoming event, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6 and highlighted by the Roughriders' football game versus Marshall High School. In addition to football, Homecoming will include a barbecue dinner, bonfire, community pep rally, music and entertainment, parade and special dedications. All canvassers attending Homecoming will receive a 'Rider baseball cap.
This year's Homecoming theme is 'Riders on the Rise' and celebrates the high school's recent ascension to a higher level of operations, including new additions and upgrades to the historic campus, some of which were contributed to by University students in August during the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership's annual Service Plunge.