October 14, 2008
For Immediate Release
For an Interview:
Trevor Tooke
(801) 863-8732
The Utah Valley University Justice Committee of the UVU Student Association (UVUSA) partnered with various groups on campus to register 3,488 UVU voters in the past month. The campaign, called UVOTE, made a mark on both the state and national level and placed UVU as the school with the most registered voters in Utah.
"We are definitely one of the most civically engaged campuses in the nation," said Trevor Tooke, executive vice president of UVUSA. "We have a powerhouse school with powerhouse students who are making a difference in society. We are proud to go to UVU and have a great level of involvement on our campus."
On the national level, the "Ultimate College Bowl" contest on MySpace has been tracking which campuses have the most voter registrations across the country. Tooke said UVUSA unfortunately didn’t find out about the contest until after it had already turned in all of the school’s voter registration sheets to the Utah County Clerk. However, Tooke said, if UVU were participating in the contest, it would have taken second place nationwide with 170 student registrations more than University of California-Berkeley, which had 3,318.
Most of UVU’s 3,488 registrations came during the three weeks tables were set up around campus with life-size cutouts of the presidential candidates displayed, encouraging students to register to vote and in turn receive a political button if they did. Other tactics to get students registered included dorm storming, handing out UVOTE t-shirts and bringing a live "Vote Goat" on campus. The registration push was a combined campus effort of the UVU Democrats Club, UVU Republicans Club, VOX Club and UVUSA.
UVU is one of five locations in Utah County offering early-voting booths from Oct. 21 to Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in SC 105. This helps Utah Valley voters avoid long lines on Election Day.
UVU will also hold a "Rock the Vote" event featuring Recycled Percussion on Nov 4. from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the McKay Event Center. Those who received a UVOTE button for registering can get into the concert for free. After the concert, "Rock the Vote" attendees can view the announcement of the new U.S. President as it is broadcasted live in the Sorensen Student Center Grande Ballroom.
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College Marketing Contact:
Erin Spurgeon
(801) 863-6807
Written by:
Britnee Nguyen
(801) 863-8504