Actor Kal Penn, star of such movies as "American Desi," "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," "The Namesake" and "Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," is coming to Minnesota State on behalf of Barack Obama.
The event, put on by Students for Barack Obama, will be held 6 p.m. Sunday in room 253-255 of the CSU. It will begin with a speech by Penn, followed by a meet-and-greet where students can sign up to support Obama and register to vote.
Lee Ann Kley, a volunteer with Students for Obama, said she is excited to see Penn because of his ability to connect with college students.
"A lot of people know who he is and he can really relate to young people," Kley said. "It's great that someone famous is concerned with educating college students on the important issues."
Sarah Storm, another volunteer with Students for Obama, thinks having Penn at MSU will encourage people to check out the organization.
"Sometimes students want to get involved with something, but they need that extra motivation to go," Storm said. "We want to provide that extra push."
"It's important for students to see their favourite actors doing things like this," said Students for Obama volunteer Molly Carmody. "It attracts people and makes them want to do more."
In May 2007, Penn, whose real name is Kalpen Modi, received the Asian Excellence Award for Outstanding Actor for his performance in The Namesake. He also appeared in a 2007 episode of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" and currently plays Dr. Lawrence Kutner on the television series "House."
Penn, who moved to Des Moines, Iowa, during the 2007 Hollywood writer's strike to work full-time for Obama's campaign, has been touring colleges to speak about Obama. He also appeared in Andres Useche's Obama video, Si Se Puede Cambiar.
Dannielle Higginbotham is a Reporter staff writer
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