Washington D.C. – As Americans prepare to cast their votes for the next President of the United States Cable in the Classroom and WWE’s Smackdown Your Vote! have released new video of college student interviews featuring student opinions on some of the most critical issues in this year’s election. The 10 videos are a complementary component of the eLECTIONS 2008: Your Adventure in Politics broadband game at www.ciconline.org/elections and are also posted on the WWE Smackdown Your Vote! site at: www.smackdownyourvote.com.

The short videos are available online in time for teachers to use in classrooms during the remaining weeks of the presidential election season. Many teachers have already been using the eLECTIONS 2008 game a 3-D high-speed broadband adventure that uses interactive tools to allow kids and adults to experience a self-directed run for the U.S. Presidency in the classroom. These new videos provide teachers the chance to incorporate a wide range of student input and opinions into their campaign lessons.

In these new videos WWE Superstars and Divas open each segment to set up the various issues. Filmed at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield CT the interviews feature both Democratic and Republican college students articulating their views on 10 key issues drawn from the eLECTIONS 2008 game:

• Healthcare                                Education
• Environment                              Defense
• Economy                                  Affirmative Action
• Immigration                               Taxes
• Campaign Finance Reform         National Security

Gary Rose Ph.D. Chairman of the Department of Government and Politics at Sacred Heart University said “These videos bring to life how young people are a critical factor in this election.  Their knowledge and ability to speak to a broad range of issues during a period of economic uncertainty demonstrate to voters of all ages how the next generation is aware of the challenges facing our country and of the nuances of our public policy and political system.” 

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WWE and Cable in the Classroom

Smackdown Student Interviews                                                                      

Frank Gallagher Director of Education & Media Literacy at Cable in the Classroom added “The videos will encourage students and teachers around the country to engage in lively and frank discussions of current events. The eLECTIONS game and these new Smackdown Your Vote! videos will get students’ attention and help educate them about the issues about the political process and the power of one vote.”

Geof Rochester WWE’s Executive Vice President Marketing said working with Cable in the Classroom was a natural extension of its efforts to encourage more young people to vote.  “These videos are a snapshot of how young adults are viewing the critical issues in this election and how they may vote in November ” he said.  “They also start the process of demonstrating to the next generation of young voters that they can make a difference in their country and their community by becoming engaged in their democracy and casting their vote on Election Day.  It all starts by realizing that your opinions on the issues do count.”

In addition to these new videos eLECTIONS 2008 includes content in the game from three cable network partners CNN Student News History™ and C-SPAN that help bring lesson plans and campaign history to life in the classroom.

AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS:

1) Frank Gallagher Cable in the Classroom Director of Education & Media Literacy
Contact: 202-222-2345

2) Gary Rose Ph.D. Chairman of Department of Government and Politics Sacred Heart University Fairfield CT
Contact: 203-396-8241

3) Gary Davis WWE
Contact:  203-353-5066

Smackdown Your Vote! & WWE

In addition to the Smackdown Student Interview videos smackdownyourvote.com features an online debate between Senator Obama and Senator McCain on the issues important to younger voters in this election based on Smackdown Your Vote!’s nation voter issues paper for 18-30 year olds developed with Harvard University’s Institute of Politics Sacred Heart University University of Virginia’s Youth Leadership Initiative the League of Women Voters CIRCLE Mobilize.org mun2 New Voters Project PIRG and Rock the Vote. It also features an interactive microsite that engages voters in the issues and links them to answers to key elections questions from the presidential candidates.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on global activities go to www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

Cable in the Classroom

Cable in the Classroom (CIC) the cable industry’s education foundation works to expand and enhance learning for children and youth. Created in 1989 to help schools take advantage of educational cable programming and technology CIC has become a leading national advocate for media literacy education and for the use of technology and media for learning as well as a valuable resource of educational cable content and services for policymakers educators and industry leaders. 

For more information about Cable in the Classroom please visit: www.ciconline.org.

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