College students from campuses across Tennessee joined with top Democratic leaders and more than 3,000 others at the annual Tri-County Labor Day Celebration in Middle Tennessee this weekend to honor America’s troops serving overseas, and express the importance of voting in the November election.

To show their support of the troops, Democrats assembled hundreds of care packages with letters of encouragement and everyday items that are hard to come by where they are.

Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Randy Button and Congressmen John Tanner, Bart Gordon and Jim Cooper were all on hand to participate in the festivities along with numerous state legislators including state Sen. Roy Herron of Dresden. Actor David Keith also stopped by to show his support and speak on the importance of this November’s election. Keith encouraged everyone young and old not only to “get out and vote,” but to also “get involved with the local campaigns as well.”

This was a message that many college students have already taken to heart, including some of UTM’s own. They are getting involved with state House and Senate races across the state at all levels, from campaign managers to volunteers wearing campaign T-shirts, going door to door, and even passing out stickers.

Amy Hedstrom, junior Political Science major from Old Hickory are currently volunteers for Herron and State Representative candidate Tony Campbell. Hedstrom said of her involvement that “some people seem to think politics are reserved for the older generation, but it does not have to be that way.”

Matt Maxey, senior Political Science and Communications major from Ashland City, is currently serving as Campaign Manager for Tony Campbell’s state representative campaign in Middle Tennessee. “I’ve grown up around politics and always thought it was something everyone was involved with, but have since learned that people our age are the least involved in the political process. I would love to see more people our age involved because it is our generation that will benefit or be burdened by the decisions being made now.”

The first step for anyone wanting to get involved is registering to vote. You can register to vote online at rockthevote.org or on campus at the SGA office located upstairs in the UC.

The voter registration deadline is Oct. 3 and Election Day is set for Tuesday, Nov. 2. Early voting is available from Oct. 13-28 at the Weakley County Election Commission, located at 135 S. Poplar St. in Dresden.