By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

SOUTHFIELD — MTV reality show star Shane Landrum paid a visit to two Oakland Community College campuses this past week as part of Rock the Vote, a nonprofit, non-partisan political advocacy endeavor aimed at encouraging the younger generation to participate in the political process.

Landrum, 27, of Chicago, Ill., was a cast member on MTV’s Road Rules: Campus Crawl in 2002. He has also participated in four consecutive Real World/Road Rules challenges including The Inferno, Battle of the Sexes, Battle of the Sexes 2 and Fresh Meat. He has been an active participant with Rock the Vote for seven years.

“I have always had a platform of diversity,” said Landrum, the self-proclaimed “gay guy on the show.”

“My passion for public speaking and promoting individual rights led me to (Rock the Vote),” he said. “I like talking to people and entertaining.”

While Landrum says he does lean in one direction as far as his personal political beliefs are concerned, he leaves that out of his Rock the Vote appearances.

“It would be nice to be more involved with my political affiliation, but it wouldn’t be fair for Rock the Vote,” said Landrum, adding that the overarching message of the endeavor is more important. “It’s so people are making informed decisions. There is nothing more frustrating than talking to someone who will be voting on something that is going to affect my life, and they don’t have the right reasons behind it — it’s because they like the way a person looks or because their grandfather is voting for them.”

During his appearances, Landrum draws information from a PowerPoint presentation that outlines both major party candidates and where they stand on the bigger issues, such as the environment, health care, immigration, Iraq, Social Security, gun control, same-sex marriage and taxes.

Landrum says he plays devil’s advocate while exploring both candidates’ position on the issues, and encourages participation from the crowd gathered in common areas of the campuses. He sometimes has to serve as mediator when debates spark up.

A discussion of the war in Iraq ensued during Landrum’s Sept. 8 visit to the Southfield campus of OCC.

“This is a big one for a lot of people,” Landrum said. “I think most of us have been personally touched by the war in Iraq.”

He explored both sides of the issue, asking of participants, “Was the war just? Should we stay and fix the problem that we became involved in? Should we ‘Hit the road, Jack’ or stay and finish?”

Jessica Gilde, 23, of Ferndale, an undergraduate occupational therapy student at OCC who was doing homework in the café when she came upon the Rock the Vote rally, was happy she was able take in the presentation.

“It was good,” she said. “I learned some things about both (John) McCain and (Barack) Obama that I didn’t know.”

Which is exactly what Landrum and Rock the Vote founders hope to accomplish with these appearances.

“It’s one thing to vote by party, but there’s another way to vote, and that is, ‘What matters most to you?’” Landrum explained to the group that gathered. “Most of this is hogwash to people. Some people don’t care about gun control or same-sex marriage and some people really care about the war or health care or the environment. But these people have a direct influence on what is going to happen to you and your life.”

Stacey Jackson, coordinator of student development for the Royal Oak/Southfield campuses of OCC, said that the purpose of bringing Rock the Vote to the school was to inform students, so that they can make an educated decision when it comes time to vote.

“It’s part of our responsibility as higher education to continue to educate students so they are able to make informed decisions,” Jackson said.

Landrum also visited the Orchard Ridge campus of OCC Sept. 8, and his fellow Road Rules and Battle of the Sexes costar Rachel Robinson paid a visit to the Royal Oak campus on Sept. 5. Other Rock the Vote rallies were held at the Auburn Hills and Highland Lakes campuses as well.

Eligible students who haven’t yet done so were encouraged to register to vote in their respective communities before the Oct. 4 deadline.

The information presented to participating students during the OCC Rock the Vote appearances was derived from the following Web sites: www.bbc.com, www.democrats.org, www.rnc.org, www.cnn.com and www.declareyourself.com, as well as the individual candidates’ Web sites, www.barackobama.com and www.johnmccain.com.