Hundreds of students caught a glimpse of America’s birth certificate Tuesday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union as part of a nationwide campaign to resurrect student voting numbers.

An original copy of the Declaration of Independence was on display, courtesy of the Declare Yourself Tour, an 18-city college campus tour that aims to reverse a 30-year trend in declining voter rates.

Lines to see the Declaration extended across the length of the Great Hall, spilling out into the halls of the Memorial Union. Viewers took a quick look at the document, then picked up their own miniature copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Reactions varied widely.

Many who saw the Declaration — especially those who had seen the signed copy in Washington — said they were underwhelmed.

“It’s not what I expected,” said David Woodman, sophomore in pre-business. “It was much whiter than I expected. I thought it would have looked more rustic and have frayed edges.”

However, one student said seeing the document was an important affirmation of American principles.

“I’ve been thinking about political issues a lot recently, like gay marriage,” said Holly Steiner, sophomore in linguistics “It makes me think about the original ideas of the Declaration, and I think we’ve strayed from them.”

All activities at “Declare Yourself” related to voting. Students were registered to vote by members of The New Voters project — the largest grassroots organization in the country.

Participants also cast e-ballots at voting booths for a mock election between President Bush and the nine Democratic presidential candidates, even though all but John Kerry have dropped out of the race. Bush won, with 84 votes, followed by Kerry with 34 votes. Twenty-four other votes were dispersed among the eight other Democrats.

Students also volunteered to be filmed by a Yahoo videographer, who asked them about the importance of voting. The most inspiring testimonial will be featured on the Declare Yourself and Yahoo Web sites.

Nick Leitheiser, senior in political science, said the tour’s war against student voter apathy isn’t waged in vain. He said student voting rates are already increasing and are poised to rise even more in November’s presidential election.

He said there is a revival in student voting, since students are shouldering the burden of budget cuts.

“Thanks to budget crunches at Iowa State, students are finally feeling the effects of politics,” Leitheiser said. “I think the trend of low student voter turnout is beginning to reverse. That’s why voter registration is a huge deal. Tuition keeps rising, and students are ignored simply because they don’t vote.”

On hand at Declare Yourself was Cristena Pyle, cast member of MTV’s Road Rules Campus Tour and the Inferno. She joined the tour voluntarily after a friend told her the project was a good means of community service.

Pyle said the Declare Yourself tour was a better road trip than Road Rules.

“Let’s just say there’s a lot less drama on this trip,” she said. “Now I get to pick the people I travel with.”