A political forum was held today to inform the Sacramento State community of the candidates of this year’s United States election.

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Guliani and Dennis Kucinich were some of many candidates who were discussed at the forum.

Erika Alatorre, director of the Office of Governmental Affairs – the organization that held the event, along with Associated Students Inc. – said the event was an opportunity for students to engage themselves politically.

“It’s an effort to help students learn about the different candidates,” she said.

There were 16 Power Point presentation slides for each of the candidates that informed students of where each stood on certain political issues, along with background information about their lives.

Different political groups from Sac State and the Sacramento area were present handing out informational pamphlets and were able to answer questions students had.

Kara Greene, senior government major and president of the College Republicans, said the forum was effective, because political interaction is born on campus.

“Forums like this one help us feel less political apathy on campus,” she said.

Senator Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) provided information about the state’s politics and answered questions that students had.

The room was filled with students and community members who had different political views. Some had a chance to share their thoughts before the audience during an “open mic” portion of the forum.

David Hunt, junior graphic design major, attended the forum to learn more about the presidential candidates, but instead, learned about the political groups in attendance.

“I know a fair share of information about the candidates already because I try to keep up with politics as best I can,” he said.

Hunt said it is important for voters to be well-educated about the candidates before voting.

Jose Martinez can be reached at [email protected].