Her plea — along with her endorsement of two candidates in upcoming Tennessee races for U.S. Senate and House — coincided with more than 166,000 new voter registrations between the time she posted on Oct. 7 and noon on Oct. 9, according to Vote.org. About 42 percent of those registrants were between the ages of 18 and 24.

But are celebrity endorsements really a magic bullet for politicians?

Not necessarily, says Aubrey Jewett, associate professor of Political Science at UCF.

“Studies show that celebrity endorsements most often energize a fan base who were already leaning toward a certain politician. So maybe they go from planning to vote to attending a rally,” Jewett says.

Jewett points to the close primary race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in 2008 as an example. Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Obama was estimated to be worth more than a million votes and a huge boost in fundraising.

On a broader scale, celebrity endorsements often serve as a bridge between a demographic and a candidate, explained Terri Fine, professor of Political Science and associate director of the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at UCF. The Institute promotes civic engagement through educational programs, research and policy analysis.

Turnout and registration is often low with younger voters because they don’t frequently see candidates who mirror their age or demographic. Swift’s endorsement serves as a proxy for that lack of a familiar face, Fine says.

“People recognize her, they like her, and that enables her to send a message,” Fine says.

But celebrity endorsements have their drawbacks, too.

“It can actually have a net negative effect,” Jewett explains.

Research shows in some cases voters will come out specifically to vote against someone a celebrity endorsed.

“It can hurt instead of help a candidate,” Jewett says.

is associate professor of English at Central Michigan şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą, and his work centers on teaching writing, literacy, and technology. As director of CMU’s Chippewa River Writing Project, Dr. Hicks has direct experience with the changing nature of writing and the advent of digital literacy, and he synthesizes that information into his teacher training and student lessons.

Author, educator, and international speaker offers a presentation focused on engaging students, especially those students who are the most disengaged from the classroom or the subject.

National education consultant Cheryl Ellis of will offer a unique and informative presentation on Examining the DNA of Writing – digging into the real building blocks of literacy to help students advance their skills and their interest.

, author and distinguished literacy professor, will offer attendees a framework for engaging learners in reading and writing for the 21st century.

In addition to these presentations, several sessions centered around writing and literacy are planned, including preparing students for the new Florida Standards Assessment, principles of effective writing instruction, teacher and peer feedback on student writing, assistive technology tools for writing, and many others.

Executive director Wendy Stevens and deputy director Laurie Lee from will present a fascinating talk on how to read like a writer – and how to get your students to do so too. Renowned literacy scholar and author and educational consultant and author Roberta Berglund are preparing a talk on the Florida language arts standards, and arts educator Mary Palmer will speak to how the arts can be a pathway to successful reading and writing instruction.

2015 Florida Teacher of the Year presentation will focus on reading, writing, and literacy in specific content areas, while 2014 Florida Teacher of the Year Dorina Sackman will share with attendees the winning recipe for developing literacy and content learning for students in 6-12 grades.

Additional presenters include senior research fellow at UCF’s Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government , Florida DOE writing specialist Julia Somers-Arthur, award-winning children’s author/illustrator Ethan Long, education director , and reading educator, author, and symposium organizer Vicky Zygouris-Coe.

The 17th annual Literacy Symposium takes place April 3rd at the Education Complex and Teaching Academy buildings on the UCF campus. To find out more about the Symposium or to register, visit the .