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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 7, 2008

Upstate Medical, UAlbany tops in registrations
SUNY Rock the Vote campaign registers over 16,000 students

The “Voice Your Vote Challenge” registered more than 16,000 State University of New York students to vote in this week’s election. That figure eclipses the more than 11,000 students who registered in the last challenge in 2006.

“In an election with so much emphasis on the youth vote, this voter registration drive took on even greater importance,” said United University Professions President Phillip Smith. “Thousands of students learned a real life lesson on democracy in helping to determine who our elected leaders will be, especially our next president.”

UUP -- the union representing 35,000 academic and professional faculty on SUNY’s state-operated campuses -- joined with the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), NYSUT, the SUNY Student Assembly and SUNY Rock the Vote in the “Voice Your Vote Challenge,” a six-week nonpartisan voter registration drive involving SUNY’s state-operated campuses and community colleges.

Campuses competed to register the greatest percentage of their student body to vote.

Upstate Medical University in Syracuse garnered top honors, registering 31 percent, or 396 of their 1,273 students. UAlbany registered the most students, signing up 2,402, or nearly 14 percent of its students.

Several other SUNY campuses registered a notable number of students, including Stony Brook and Buffalo State with nearly 2,000, Binghamton with more than 1,700, Cortland with close to 1,400, and New Paltz with more than 1,200.

Upstate Medical University will earn an award for their achievement.

The registration drive included a variety of events, including candidate forums and visits by volunteers to classes and residence halls.

UUP is an affiliate of NYSUT, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the AFL-CIO.