September 23, 2000
STUDENT LEADERS RECOGNIZED BY PA COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY, CHANCELLOR FOR VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
With election day a little more than six weeks away, student leaders from the 14 State System of Higher Education universities have helped register nearly 5,000 new voters on their campuses.
The month-long drive to sign up student voters was highlighted by various activities held on the campuses during this past week, which the State System’s Board of Student Government Presidents (BSGP) designated as Voter Registration Week. The newly registered voters will be eligible to cast ballots in the November 7 General Election.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Kim Pizzingrilli today recognized the students’ unique effort, underscoring the importance of youth participation to the group of student government leaders at the Dixon University Center.
“Democracy is the cornerstone of our way of life,” said Pizzingrilli. “But voter participation has dropped to alarmingly low levels in recent years. We all must work to ensure our young people understand the importance of voting.
“We’re proud of these student leaders for conducting such a successful drive and for encouraging their peers to register and to vote.”
Secretary Pizzingrilli administers the Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees voter registration and the electoral process in Pennsylvania. She also is a member of the National Association of Secretaries of State, which proclaimed September 16-22 as National Voter Registration Week to raise awareness, particularly among younger Americans, of the importance of voting.
The BSGP comprises the presidents of the state-owned universities’ 14 student government organizations. The student government presidents, along with the other elected student government officers from each of the campuses, meet four times a year to discuss issues of importance to the more than 95,000 students who attend State System universities.
“These student leaders play an important role to their universities and to the State System of Higher Education,” said Chancellor James H. McCormick. “This effort in particular demonstrates their dedication and commitment not only to their universities and the State System, but also to Pennsylvania and to the democratic process. By registering new voters, they are helping to assure the future strength and success of their communities, the Commonwealth and the entire nation.
“We indeed can be rightly proud of every one of them.”
The BSGP’s ad-hoc committee on voter registration is being co-chaired by Amy Yozviak of West Chester University of Pennsylvania and Dawn Qualli of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Other committee members are Clayton Wukich of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Matthew Goff of California University of Pennsylvania, Angela Ambrose of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Damien Golden of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.
The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.
The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.