STUDENTS ROCK FOR RON PAUL

The registered student organization Students for Ron Paul hosted the
"Rock for Ron Paul" concert from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Chi
Omega Greek Theater. A variety of musicians performed to promote
political awareness. In addition to music, testimonials were given by
individuals both in support and opposition to the Ron Paul movement.
Portions of his speeches were also viewed via YouTube. The concert was
sponsored in part by Qdoba's Mexican Grill, which provided free chips
and salsa to those in attendance.

A member of Students for Ron Paul organization said the group was
motivated to host the event because the publicity of music helps
present their political views to the general public and the community.
"We're not trying to suck them into politics, we're just trying to get
them involved," said David Fryauf, vice president of the RSO. "There
are a lot of inspiring and funny videos, and that's what we want
people to see."

The featured acts of the concert included Bright Shade of White,
Apartment 5, Memphis Pencils, Timber, Wing and a Prayer, Up with
Freedom and Sandy Rowles. Each act performed voluntarily, either
because they were in support of Ron Paul or merely enjoyed performing.

"Most of us working with student groups don't want to get in people's
faces but rather present information to them," Fryauf said.

Students for Ron Paul came up with the idea to host the concert
through the off-campus area group for Paul. In addition to this
concert, they've also been tailgating and chalking the UA.

The members of Students for Ron Paul are in support of many of Paul's
reforms, including his goal to lower taxes and have less government
involvement. However, being against the war on drugs takes on a
greater manifestation for students.

"[Paul] doesn't want to waste resources on the prison system," Fryauf
said. "He probably wouldn't legalize drugs but maybe downgrade
possession to a misdemeanor, maybe soften up the drug policy."

Paul stands out because he's not a politician and isn't charismatic,
Fryauf said. He's an honest guy with a strong philosophy and he's a
candidate of principle, he said. A video which can be found on the
Internet shows Paul running for president in 1988 as a Libertarian and
supporting the same issues today as he did then, Fryauf said.

While there is a lot of support on campus for Paul, there are some
politically savvy individuals who disagree with Paul's stance on
certain issues. Many people are simply jumping on Paul's bandwagon
without fully reviewing his policies, said freshmen Dylan Jones.

Paul's goal to reduce the education system and give educational
decisions to the states will cause a diversity problem, in that there
will be fifty different standards for education, Jones said. This will
make it more difficult to get a job in an alternate state. "If Paul
was the president, nobody would be able to go to high school," Jones
said.

Although the concert was in support of Paul, the Students for Ron Paul
were open to opposing opinions. The goal of the concert was to raise
awareness in the community of Paul and to get people involved in the
political process.