Spring Break
Brandeis voting initiative begins
by Miranda Neubauer
Senior Writer
News | 9/9/08
Posted online at 5:13 AM EST on 9/9/08
The Student Union's Brandeis Votes campaign started yesterday with 18 clubs competing to register as many new voters as possible by the campaign's end Sept. 23, Student Union President Jason Gray '10 said.
"In advance of the November election, we decided it was important to mobilize the Brandeis community to be engaged in the electoral process-that includes voter registration and awareness," Gray said.
He said that clubs that are still interested in signing up should contact him.
The Union will provide participating clubs with Massachusetts and national voter registration forms that are valid in all states. Union members are working out details of plans for the Office of Residence Life to help spread information about absentee voting; the Union will also send information to students studying abroad.
At the end of the contest, clubs will be awarded prizes in different categories based on the type and size of the club, Gray said. First-place winners will receive $200, second place-winners will receive $100 and third-place winners will receive $50, Gray said at Sunday's Union Senate Meeting. The money will be transferred to the club's fundraising accounts. The money will come from the Union Executive Board's Project Support Fund with expected co-funding from the Union Senate.
The Union will announce the winners of the contest on Sept. 24 during a Rock the Vote concert event at Brandeis organized by Student Events, Gray said. The event, to take place on the Great Lawn or in the Shapiro Campus Center, will also feature jousting between Democrats and Republicans and a rock wall, according to information provided to Gray by Student Events. Students who register to vote will receive T-shirts and other giveaways.
In partnership with the Office of Communications, the Union plans to organize a panel discussion with Brandeis faculty on Sept. 25 to discuss the job description of the next president of the United States and to what extent the candidates are suited to fill that role, Gray said. The Union and the Office of Communications are still finalizing the participants and are also working on arranging visits by local representatives from the campaigns, as well as a teleconference with national representatives, Union Communications director Jamie Ansorge '09 added at the meeting.
"In advance of the November election, we decided it was important to mobilize the Brandeis community to be engaged in the electoral process-that includes voter registration and awareness," Gray said.
He said that clubs that are still interested in signing up should contact him.
The Union will provide participating clubs with Massachusetts and national voter registration forms that are valid in all states. Union members are working out details of plans for the Office of Residence Life to help spread information about absentee voting; the Union will also send information to students studying abroad.
At the end of the contest, clubs will be awarded prizes in different categories based on the type and size of the club, Gray said. First-place winners will receive $200, second place-winners will receive $100 and third-place winners will receive $50, Gray said at Sunday's Union Senate Meeting. The money will be transferred to the club's fundraising accounts. The money will come from the Union Executive Board's Project Support Fund with expected co-funding from the Union Senate.
The Union will announce the winners of the contest on Sept. 24 during a Rock the Vote concert event at Brandeis organized by Student Events, Gray said. The event, to take place on the Great Lawn or in the Shapiro Campus Center, will also feature jousting between Democrats and Republicans and a rock wall, according to information provided to Gray by Student Events. Students who register to vote will receive T-shirts and other giveaways.
In partnership with the Office of Communications, the Union plans to organize a panel discussion with Brandeis faculty on Sept. 25 to discuss the job description of the next president of the United States and to what extent the candidates are suited to fill that role, Gray said. The Union and the Office of Communications are still finalizing the participants and are also working on arranging visits by local representatives from the campaigns, as well as a teleconference with national representatives, Union Communications director Jamie Ansorge '09 added at the meeting.
Be the first to comment on this story