The Rock the Vote bus rolled up recently to the Beach at Homewood, bringing with it five bands to keep the music cranked up; actress Elisabeth Moss, who plays the president's daughter on The West Wing, to act as emcee; and stacks of absentee ballot forms to distribute among the hundreds of students who stopped by.

Also on the agenda was a mock election, in which students gave Al Gore the top spot with 180 votes out of the 310 cast.

The seven-hour visit was part of a countrywide tour sponsored by Rock the Vote, an organization founded in 1990 by members of the recording industry; its goal is to help young people get involved in the political process.

Among its accomplishments have been debuting the first program to register voters by phone and, working with MCI, developing the first Web site to offer online voter registration.