Contact Program Contact Kathy Parkison, Ph.D. School of Business/SIFE 765-455-9462 Media Contact Anne-Marie Damler OCM (765) 455-9468 adamler@iuk.edu Mary Ellen Stephenson OCM (765) 455-9414 mestephe@iuk.edu

SIFE registers voters, celebrates Constitution

Members of Student In Free Enterprise have set a goal of registering 156 voters by October 6.

KOKOMO, Ind.—Indiana University Kokomo’s Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapter hopes to register 156 voters on campus now through October 6. SIFE launched its drive in partnership with the History and Political Science Club. The club distributed free copies of the U.S. Constitution to potential voters, in celebration of the 219th anniversary of that document’s signing on September 17, 1787.

SIFE’s registration drive is part of multi-state effort, sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU) through its American Democracy Project. AASCU has set a goal of registering 40,000 students during the 2006 voting cycle.

The project builds on the historic young voter turnout in the 2004 U.S. presidential elections, said SIFE President Katie Cunningham. In 2004, turnout among 18 to 24 year olds jumped 11 percentage points, nearly three times the overall electorate’s turnout increase, and more than 20 million 18 to 29 year olds voted.

“2004 proved that if you ask people, they will vote,” Cunningham said. ” Offering voter registration and the American Democracy Project’s emphasis on engaging college students in civic life go hand-in-hand with SIFE’s focus on community service projects, she added. “SIFE’s founder Sam Walton believed that university students could take the knowledge of business and management principles they’ve learned in school, and could apply that knowledge to bettering their world through education and service.”

To register to vote in Indiana, you must

• Be a citizen of the United States

• Be at least 18 years old on the day of the next election

• Have lived in your Indiana precinct for at least 30 days before the next election

• Not currently be in prison for criminal conviction

Voter registration in Indiana ends October 10 for those wishing to vote in the November 7, 2006, general election.

For more information on Students In Free Enterprise at IU Kokomo, contact SIFE faculty fellow Professor Kathy Parkison, Ph.D., at (765) 455-9462.