Oregon Student Association
Founded in 1975, OSA is a coalition of student governments dedicated to the representation, service, and protection of the collective interests of over 100,000 students in postsecondary education.
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Internet Digest
September 25, 2006
2. Power at the Polls! Fall Student Vote Campaign
Students aren’t just returning to classes, they’re also gearing up to turn out the Student Vote for the fall General Election. OSA is working on public college and university campuses across the state as part of the nonpartisan Student Vote Coalition, one of the largest student-led vote mobilization efforts in country. Oregon students plan to register 18,000 students statewide, do nonpartisan education on the candidates and ballot measures, and get students to turn in their ballots.
Students want to build their power at the polls now to win victories on their issues in the 2007 legislative session. “With students paying more for a college education and getting less from under-funded institutions,” said OSA Board Member Monique Teal of SOU, “we need to be voting on which legislators we want voting on the issues that affect our lives. We’ll also be electing a governor who can choose to invest in postsecondary education or to pay for the cost of college on the backs of students. Who do you want to see in that position?”
Approximately 200,000 students across Oregon will have access to the nonpartisan OSA Student Voter Guide, which includes legislative candidates’ responses to a survey sent out by OSA in June on student legislative priorities. The Voter Guide will also include information on what the gubernatorial candidates say about postsecondary education.
And the Guide doesn’t forget information about the ballot measures as this is not the election to let them fall under your radar. This year, eight of the ten ballot measures affect students’ lives and two of them could affect the state budget, including funding for postsecondary education. Students will be giving hundreds of nonpartisan presentations on these ballot measures on campuses.
OSCC is also giving voter education presentations on campuses. The OSCC vote efforts focus on educating students of color on the history of voting in Oregon communities of color as well as the current voting trends. “We want to show communities of color that in voting we gain the power to make concrete change for our communities in the coming legislative session,” said OSCC Board Member Oscar Guerra of UO.
Students urge their peers to get involved. “Students have made change in the past by turning out to vote,” said Teal. “It’s no coincidence that 2004 was called the “year of the student voter” when the Student Vote Coalition registered 33,617 students to vote and in 2005, students were winners in the Oregon legislature. Stop by your student government office now to volunteer to get out the student vote!”
Register yourself to vote by October 17 and vote in the election by November 7.
OSA is part of the larger Student Vote Coalition, which includes Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG), Oregon Community College Student Association (OCCSA), Building Votes, and many other organizations.
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635 NE Dekum St.
Portland, OR 97211
Phone: 503-286-0477
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