Actor Kal Penn helps register voters at Penn State, with Obama's campaign

[gauguin57]

Saw this on the Website of the student newspaper at my alma mater ... they forgot to mention that Penn is also on "House."

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/09/15/kal_penn_registers_voters_down.aspx?print=1

Actor Kal Penn, best known to college students for his roles in the "Harold & Kumar" and "Van Wilder" movies, registered voters and canvassed with presidential candidate Barack Obama's State College campaign Sunday.

Penn announced to a busy campaign office filled with volunteers and staffers that he hoped the group would register 1,000 people in its efforts Sunday.

He stressed the importance of college students' role in the election and in addition to his afternoon volunteering, Penn was scheduled to visit fraternities and continue his visit to the area today.

Penn, a registered independent, said he has been volunteering with the campaign since last October. He said he would stress the importance of each individual vote and college students' ability to influence. A"It's too important not to do anything," Penn said.

[TheDonkey]

1. Bless him! We need help in PA. It'll be a close one.

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. WE ARE...

[gauguin57]

7. ... PENN STATE!

[melody]

3. "House" fans would know him as Kutner (one of the second group of ducklings)

And good for him. It's nice to see actors getting involved, especially since they get beaten up over it in the press.

[madfloridian]

4. Did you see this picture of him on the tour with the bus? He's working hard.

Here is more about the bride and groom.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/2499

[Cha]

13. Thanks mad! I saw that movie that Kal

Penn was in..I didn't recognize his name at first but it was pretty funny:D

Good pics! I love knowing what these people are up to and who I will support with my money:)

[Patsy Stone]

5. He's very active. He was a whip at the DNC, too.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/08/penn-obama-dnc.html

Rock on, Kal! :patriot:

[Barack_America]

6. He was in PA constantly during the primaries.

He volunteered basically full-time in Iowa before that (due to the writer's strike).

I got to meet him on several occasions and was amazed at how well he knew Obama's policy positions. He is about as good of a surrogate as Obama has, IMO.

[elfin]

8. Just saw "Namesake" - an earlier movie

he did about growing up in America with immigrant Bengali parents. Good movie.

Besides House - also in Harold and Kumar adventures, I believe.

[gauguin57]

15. 'The Namesake" was a wonderful film. It was already Penn's favorite book, before he was cast.

From his IMDB page.

His favorite book is "The Namesake" and used to check into hotels under the pseudonym of "Gogol Ganguli", the lead character of the book. When found out that Mira Nair was making a film out of it, despite her having already cast an actor in the part, Penn lobbied for the role and eventually won it.

[csziggy]

9. He stopped by here (Tallahassee) for an unscheduled visit - I missed him by twenty minutes

That was a couple of weeks ago.

[Cha]

10. Rec'd! Love it when well known

people lend themselves to our cause of saving the Planet Earth.

[gauguin57]

11. From Kal Penn's IMDB page ...

During the Spring 2008 semester, he was an adjunct faculty member in the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania (familiarly called "Penn") in Philadelphia. He taught a lecture course, "Images of Asian Americans in the Media," and a seminar, "Contemporary American Teen Films," both of which were cross-listed in the Cinema Studies department. His faculty listing on the Asian America Studies Program website gives his name as Kalpen Modi (his real name) first, with his stage name, Kal Penn, in parentheses.

Is in the process of earning a graduate certificate in international security from Stanford University.

[Cha]

14. Thanks..he's

brilliant! Of course he supports Obama Biden:)

[Kerrytravelers]

12. This guy has been working his ass off since at least early December.

We saw Obama in early December at Universal Studios. Kal Penn was there, and Obama himself said that Penn had been working in the Iowa primary for him.

Penn is also heavily involved with the ACLU. Someone did a good job raising this guy!

[justiceischeap]

16. I know his brother! He's a good guy too. (eom)