Texas

The Raise Your Voice - Student Action for Change Campaign kicked off in Texas with a Student Leadership training weekend. Students from across Texas gathered for discussion and training to prepare for the Month of Action. The students also crafted a unifying mission for the Texas campaign: "Our mission is to provide opportunities for the students and the surrounding community to address issues and promote civic engagement for the common good."

Texas colleges and universities participating in the Month of Action include: Austin Community College, Brookhaven College, Collin County Community College District, Del Mar College, Our Lady of the Lake University, St. Edward's University, St. Mary's University, St. Philip's College, Texas Christian University, University of Houston, and The University of Texas - Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.

Activities taking place at participating campuses include voter registration drives, classroom presentations on civic engagement and other issues specific to their campus campaigns, volunteer/non-profit fairs, hosting panel discussions, and posting message boards on campus to facilitate dialogue on issues. Some early campaign highlights include:

St. Philip's College kicked off the campaign a week early with a Non-Profit fair that included pledge cards that challenged attendees to commit to a certain number of community service hours. Those who pledge and serve at least 24 hours are entered into a drawing for a scholarship.

Austin Community College held a "voter slam" in coordination with an external voter organization.

At Our Lady of the Lake University , Ralph Nader of The Green Party will be on campus on February 25 th to give an interactive presentation.

For more information on any of these events, contact: Aki Frankenberger - akif@admin.stedwards.edu