Welcome to a very Wacky, Wonderful Wednesday!!

Tonight was our first official Bust the Ballot event. Bust the Ballot, previously known as MTV's Rock the Vote, is an event to get young adults excited about voting. A celebrity moderator comes in, presents the issues without bias, and lets the audience take over the discussion. Before I get to how the event went, let me tell you about my pretty cool day...

It all started the night before at Mountie Madness (see previous blog for more information!). Sue Brugh, Director for Student Involvement and Leadership, invited me to accompany her to the Pittsburgh International Airport to pick up our celebrity. The celebrity for this event was Jose Tapia, a Real World Key West cast member. If I remember the show correctly, even though it was just flipping through when nothing else was on...(Reality TV isn't really my thing), Jose was the quiet, level headed one on the show known for partying and mayhem.

The day started early at 7 a.m. I got up, got ready for the day, and met Sue at her office. From there, we headed to Pittsburgh. The two-hour ride went by quickly and before we knew it we were at the airport. Since there was no short term parking, we had to park in one of the farthest lots. We didn't have to do much walking, there were moving sidewalks inside the tunnel to the terminal, which were pretty sweet. While we were waiting, I got a cinnamon scone and some tea from one of the airport shops...it was expensive, delicious and worth every penny... :P

When Jose arrived, we went to the baggage claim, picked up his bags, and headed back to the Mount. Jose was very friendly and an all-around cool dude. On the way, we talked about some of the places he has been. He's been to a lot of interesting places and has met a lot of cool and interesting people. We stopped at Panera bread for a quick lunch, which was as delicious as ever, and then dropped him off at his hotel, so he could catch a nap.

The event itself was great. Although it took some time for the audience to warm up to the topics, once things got going, we couldn't stop people from talking. Here are some pictures of the event.

(Above: Jose Tapia from MTV's Real World: Key West)