Members of the indie-rock band Vampire Weekend and one of the founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream will campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Friday morning at the Phi Gamma Delta house.
Lead singer Ezra Koenig and drummer Chris Tomson of Vampire Weekend will join Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry’s and Chicago musician and activist Ja’Mal D Green at Fiji on Friday at 10 a.m. The event is part of a student-geared effort by the Sanders campaign to increase voter turnout ahead of Tuesday’s Illinois primary.
Kyle Durango, the recording secretary for Fiji, said he offered to help host events on campus to campaign staff in Sanders’ Evanston office.
“It’s the prime spot to get students to get out and be active, especially during reading week,” the SESP sophomore said. “I think a huge demographic that supports Bernie Sanders in the Illinois primary is students, so it’s important that students get out and vote.”
Durango said the speakers will talk for an hour, then lead a march to the Evanston Civic Center at 11 a.m. for people to vote or register if they have not already. Out-of-state students are able to register if they bring an I.D. and a proof of residence.
“There are a lot of out-of-state kids at NU, so if they decide to vote in the Illinois primary it will be really impactful,” he said.
Email: norashelly2019@u.northwestern.edu
Twitter: @noracshelly