Stephanie Chang
(734) 751-9814
Gainesville, FL- With the help of the National Asian American Student Conference (NAASCon), Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Vote 2004, and South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), Asian American college students across the country are organizing around the 2004 Presidential Election like never before.
In 2000, only 43% of Asian Pacific Islander Americans who were eligible to vote actually voted. Furthermore, only 42% of 18-24 year-old citizens voted. NAASCon, APIA Vote and SAAVY are working together to register new Asian American college student voters and mobilizing a massive Get-Out-The-Vote campaign, to change the state of political participation.
With less than a week before the election, Asian American college students are mobilizing to get eligible voters out to the polls and to educate on important issues and platforms affecting the community. Education has taken the form of issue forums, townhall meetings, speakers, surveys of issues are most prevalent in the Asian American student community, and more.
On Election Day, hundreds of Asian American students will be defending Asian American voting rights, learning more about Asian American political behavior, and making politicians more responsive to our community's needs and concerns. This effort will take place in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
This electoral organizing will culminate in the premiere of three groundbreaking Asian American student conferences, focusing on the election's impact and next steps. The Southeast Regional Conference for Asian American Leaders (SERCAAL) will take place in Gainesville, Florida from October 29-31. The National Asian American Student Conference (NAASCon) will take place in Los Angeles, California from November 5-7. The Asian Pacific American Women's Collegiate Conference (APAWCC) will take place in Ithaca, NY from November 12-13.
"APIA Vote and APIA Vote Greek Alliance have mobilized 3,000 members of Asian-interest Greek organizations," said Go Kasai, APIA Vote Youth Coordinator. "In conjunction with NAASCon, we have helped with campus organization efforts to increase the Asian American youth voter turnout."
"SAAVY is very excited about the fact that eight fellows have registered 1500 South Asians to vote," said Tanzila Ahmed, SAAVY Founder/Director. "We hope to turn out twice as many South Asians on Election Day!"
"SERCAAL is a unique opportunity for Asian American students in the Southeast to participate at a higher level in national dialogues about the concerns affecting the Asian American community," says Mark Villegas, Co-Chair of SERCAAL.
"NAASCon serves as an innovative and national-level forum for Asian American college students across the country to connect to the community and each other to initiate change," said Corliss Lee, NAASCon Logistics Chair.
"APAWCC hopes to empower Asian American college women to break the glass ceiling," said Hai-Ching Yang. "We will discuss issues affecting our dual identity, activism, vote, and feminism."
For additional information, please visit: http://vote2004.naascon.org
