AUBURN - Since its founding in 1990, Rock The Vote has used celebrities from movies, sports, music and television to spread the message to young adults on just how important it is to not just register but to exercise their right and make their voices heard.

It's an effort that gains more momentum during each presidential election. An estimated 1.2 million voters used Rock The Vote in 2004 to register.

On Thursday evening, Rachel Robinson, a cast member of MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenges visited Cayuga Community College as part of the Rock The Vote tour encouraging young adults to register and that they are informed when they go to the polls.

Robinson said she is interested in politics and has been closely following this year's presidential race, as well as races on local and state levels.

Robinson began her talk with a general overview of the impact of youth voters, statistics she would like to see change.

Robinson said 88 percent of college students are registered to vote, but only 47 percent actually do.

“This is not good,” Robinson said. “This is a problem with our generation.”

Robinson pointed out history when it wasn't long ago when other voices were kept quiet in the political process.

Robinson said it was in 1869 with the 15th Amendment that black men were given the right to vote and 1920 with the 19th, that women could vote.

“It is crazy when you think about it,” Robinson said. “We've come a long way in a short time.”

While in general the youth vote has not been as strong as it could be, Robinson said women voted more than men by a ratio of 51 to 46 percent in 1992.

This gap closed slightly in the 2004 election, but only marginally. Robinson hopes this serves as an incentive for all young people to vote.

“Young women feel strongly about certain issues,” Robinson said. “But all people feel strongly about certain issues that is what makes them want to vote.”

Robinson also touched on the basics of each party and the presence of third party candidates. She encouraged people to support the candidates they believe in the most, but to be aware of the impact that third-party candidates can have on the election.

“I'm from Florida,” Robinson said. “Florida was decided by 537 votes (in 2000). So if you support a third-party candidate that is who you should vote for, but you should know it might be taking votes away from another candidate you might also like.”

Robinson further broke her talk down, focusing on Barack Obama and John McCain and the major issues that have been of concern, especially to younger voters.

These include the war in Iraq, the economy, immigration, gay rights and the right to choose for women. Robinson pointed out some of the differences and similarities between each of the candidates.

She pointed out that on issues such as gay rights and immigration, Obama and McCain have similar points of view, while on topics such as Iraq and healthcare, the candidates differ.

She encouraged those in attendance to research each candidate closely before choosing, to go home and watch last night's debate and most importantly to make sure they get out and vote in November.