http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArtic...=13378&pid=910
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Student voter drive registers '2002 in 2002'
Collaborative, non-partisan campaign stays up until 3 a.m. to reach goal number of University student registrations
Jason Amirhadji
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer
In what is turning out to be an important election year, a coalition of student groups at the University has met its goal of registering 2002 new student voters. The "2002 in 2002" campaign, which ran from Sept. 2 to Oct. 3, was sponsored by the University Democrats and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., in association with Student Council, Queer Student Union, Asian Student Union and the University's chapter of the National Organization for Women.
The month-long campaign included the Rock N' Rally and placed student volunteer registrars around Grounds.
In total, the coalition staffed eight tables, five hours a day, for five weeks.
On the final day of the drive, crews stayed out until 3 a.m. to recruit their last voter, bringing the total to 2002.
Ian Amelkin, president of the University Democrats, called the campaign a success.
"We are proud to have raised political awareness on Grounds," he said, adding that the voter registration drive was a non-partisan effort.
"We didn't even wear our club T-shirts," he said. "The initiative was to register voters."
In addition to registering new voters, the campaign also encouraged students to support the General Obligation Bond. The two goals of the drive were entirely correlated, Amelkin said.
"This was the first time that students have been motivated with an issue that was personal to them."
The University stands to gain over $68 million with approval of the referendum.
Although student groups have run similar drives in the past -- last year the University Democrats managed to recruit a few hundred students -- this year's goal was more ambitious.
"After five weeks we learned that 2002 is a hefty number," Amelkin said. "It's almost an entire class."
Despite the success of the campaign, more voter outreach efforts are in the works. Amelkin estimated that less than half of all students currently are registered to vote.
Despite this, Amelkin says there are further plans to encourage voting as Election Day nears.
Michael Dunkley, founder of Iota Phi Theta and co-chair of the Black Fraternal Council, also feels that encouraging voters to go to the polls also is important.
"You can get as many people to register as you want, but whether or not they actually come out and vote is another thing entirely," Dunkley said.
Dunkley sees voter apathy as a "national problem" and a major barrier to voter turnout at the University.
It is unclear if the groups involved will be able to replicate this year's registration numbers in the future. "This being an election year, it was a little easier," Amelkin said.
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