"Obama's message definitely resonates with college students," Darr said. "Barack Obama is a new kind of leadership, a new kind of politics."
Penn echoed the sentiment. He fielded a number of questions regarding Obama's stance on issues from the environment to the war in Iraq, as well as his experience. "I think it is an important question to ask, what kind of experience someone brings to the table," Penn said. "You're seeing someone who hasn't had just a kind of experience, but a way and an approach."
Obama spent time as a constitutional law professor, civil rights activist, and grassroots organizer, Penn said.
He spoke of Obama's effort to build coalitions between Democrats and Republicans to address such issues as the genocide in Darfur, issues sometimes obscured by the rhetoric of polarization.
"This is someone who was a grassroots organizer … a professor," Penn said. "I think it would be refreshing to have a president who actually read the Constitution."
Though Penn and the other Obama volunteers present answered many questions about Obama's platform, students were given the opportunity to write down additional questions along with their e-mail address to receive further information.
Penn also agreed to sign a student's copy of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle after he answered his question about Obama's economic policy.
"The most encouraging thing about the Kal Penn event was that every single question he answered was substantive," Darr said.
Penn spoke about the effect that young people have had on the world, particularly citing the influence of Facebook and YouTube.
Both founded by young adults, these sites have yielded tremendous profits and have had significant cultural effects.
Penn said that whereas the profits of past generations often came with negative social and environmental implications, these products have had no such effects.
"Our generation has created billions of dollars just by sitting in front of our computers … our hands are clean," Penn said.
"We've made billions for the Facebook and the Myspace guys, and it would be great to do something for our friends in Texas who still can't afford college."
2008 Woodie Awards
