The ONE Campaign, Politico.com and the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) today hosted the first ever ONE Student | ONE Vote forum, an unprecedented rally to motivate students to become politically active global citizens. In an hour-long exchange of ideas among students, policy experts and political leaders during ONE Student | ONE Vote at UCA, students were inspired to become more involved in global issues and encouraged them to demonstrate their activism in the November 2008 election and beyond.
Panel members included UCA President Lu Hardin; State Senator Gilbert Baker; author and national security expert Jeffrey Laurenti of the Century Foundation; Dr. Elaine Fox, a professor with great knowledge of Central America and the needs in that region; and UCA students Emily Daniel and Brooks Cato. Jim VandeHei, executive editor and co-founder of the Politico, moderated the discussion which took place at the UCA conference center.
“As students walked in to the event today, they knew we would participate in a discussion about global issues. I don?t think they anticipated how much they would be inspired to take what they learned and share with other students on campus,? said Lu Hardin, President of UCA.?Throughout the discussion, Mr. VandeHei engaged each of the panelists and the students, challenging us to think about the upcoming election and how far its effects will be felt. Many of the factors that contribute to extreme poverty may be dramatically improved if our elected leaders are committed to implementing the solutions. Access to clean water can improve health, education and economic conditions for millions around the world, creating more stable governments and economies,? reported national security expert Jeffrey Laurenti.
?Students can be one of the most powerful voting blocs inn the upcoming 2008 elections. College campuses are where ideas are exchanged and often where the most important presidential debates occur,? said State Senator Gilbert Baker. ?Students can be an early force in the upcoming election by asking the candidates the tough questions now, such as how they are going to help save the lives of the 5.4 million children who die each year from treatable disease.?
Dr. Elaine Fox added, ?I believe the students got something from the policy and political experts on the panel today, and I know we learned from the students. After the conversation, when the student asked questions of us, I was inspired by their commitment to become fully engaged in the upcoming elections. I will be working with these intelligent, creative men and women to make sure they have the resources they need to take advantage of their unique ability to drive the debate during the upcoming election.?
UCA student Emily Daniel and Brooks Cato sat on the panel. Emily participated in relief efforts in Central America. Brooks has lived in Thailand, Tanzania and Costa Rico.
?My participation in the ONE Student | ONE Vote conversation encouraged me to take what I learned on that trip and ask our nation?s leaders to find solutions to these problems,? said UCA student Emily Daniel. ?1.8 million children die each year from a disease due to unsafe drinking water. That?s one place where we can start.?
?I appreciated all of the questions the students asked after the conversation. Sometimes, I forget how much other students care about these issues too. ONE Student | ONE Vote gave us an opportunity to learn from politicians and experts and also from each other,? said UCA student Brooks Cato. ?Now we are better equipped to make a difference.?
A question and answer session followed the moderated discussion. At the event?s conclusion, Mr. VandeHei dared students to become more involved.
?The ONE Campaign and Politico.com came together with UCA students to cultivate young voters that are better informed on the driving issues of the 2008 election,? said Kimberly Cadena, spokesperson for the ONE Campaign. ?Students have more information at their fingertips than ever before. Websites like politico.com/campuspolitico and one.org/campus are two ways they can connect with each other on campus and across the country. Students can visit these sites, and learn how they can take action.?
The next ONE Student | ONE Vote will take place at University of Pennsylvania on November 1, followed by ONE Student | ONE Vote at University of Washington on November 8.
Background
ONE Student | ONE Vote is presented by the ONE Campaign and Politico.com to educate and inform young voters about the electoral process, the presidential candidates and global issues, as well as to inspire them to become leaders who engage their peers during the 2008 election cycle.
Through ONE Student | ONE Vote, Politico.com is seeking to encourage young voters to become more involved and engaged during the 2008 election. Politico launched Campus Politico dedicated to young voters, a voting bloc that looks likely to play a greater role in the 2008 election than in any before it, in October 2008. Campus Politico offers students the chance to participate in its social networking sites to chat with other Politico junkies
Through ONE Student | ONE Vote, the ONE Campaign is engaging students to join the millions of American members of ONE to ask all of the presidential candidates to make extreme poverty and global health foreign policy priorities. ONE Student | ONE Vote is part of ONE Vote ’08, an unprecedented, non-partisan campaign launched by the ONE Campaign to ask each of presidential candidate to commit to support real solutions for these crises.
ONE Student | ONE Vote is a series of campus conversations to energize, inform and activate young voters in the upcoming 2008 election. ONE Student | ONE Vote is part of ONE Vote ’08: Saving Lives, Securing our Future is an unprecedented non-partisan campaign launched by ONE to engage and energize U.S. Presidential candidates on issues of extreme poverty and global health, bringing high visibility for these issues into the U.S. political arena along with commitments by each candidate to support real solutions.
Politico.com and The Politico launched in January, 2007 with the mission of covering the politics of Capitol Hill and of the presidential campaign, and the business of Washington lobbying and advocacy with enterprise, style, and impact. The Politico is a publication of Capitol News Company, LLC. For more information, visit Politico.com.
The ONE Campaign is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans — ONE by ONE — to fight the emergency of extreme poverty and treatable, preventable disease around the world. ONE is a coalition of millions of Americans and more than 150 of the nation’s leading relief, humanitarian and advocacy organizations. For more information, visit ONE.org.
